Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020

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About the Center for the Study of Global Christianity
This report was produced by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, located at Gordon-Conwell Theo-
logical Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. The Center collates and analyzes data on church
membership and activities collected by thousands of Christian denominations around the world. Combining
this with other relevant demographic data, the Center provides a reliable profile of global Christianity and
world religions available to various constituents for research and strategic planning. The Center serves stu-
dents, researchers, scholars, journalists, and missionaries who want to explore a specific area within global
Christianity or a world religion.

The full report can be found online at www.globalchristianity.org/globalcontext.

52 Western Europe
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Part I: Executive summary
Christianity in its Global Context • Executive summary

About the study
Christians around the world today find themselves in contexts that are very different from those of 40 years
ago. Since 1970, many societies have experienced dramatic social upheavals and severe environmental
catastrophes, yet the period from 1970 to 2010 was also a time of great technological advancement and
increased connections between people around the world. Such changes challenge Christians to think dif-
ferently about the people among whom they live and work, the ways in which they interact with them, and
the potential for future cooperation.

Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020: Society, Religion, and Mission, a report produced in 2013 by
researchers at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South
Hamilton, Massachusetts, offers a timely overview of the changing demographics of Christianity and Chris-
tians’ activities over the past 40 years while looking forward to the next ten. If current trends continue, what
will be the state of the world in 2020? Who will be the neighbors of Christians, and what issues will they be
facing together? Here we summarize the key findings from the full report, which is available for PDF down-
load at www.globalchristianity.org/globalcontext.

Christianity in its Global Context presents global data on the demographics of world religions, providing
evidence for the continued resurgence of religion into the twenty-first century. It covers global Christianity,
including Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, and offers projections for where growth of all major Chris-
tian traditions is most likely to occur in the future. The bulk of the report details the Christian, religious, and
social contexts of each of the 21 United Nations (UN) regions and what changes have occurred or will
likely occur from 1970 to 2020, with discussions of key social issues that are putting pressure on residents
in each region, particularly those currently being addressed by the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The sections on social issues do not include every issue facing a particular region, but instead choose one
of particular importance to highlight. The “Mission and Society” section of the report details the status of
the worldwide missionary movement, including personal contact between Christians and other religionists
around the globe, the status of unreached people groups,
and the religious demographics of international migrants. Religious adherents, 1970 & 2020

2.3% 1.9% Other

Key findings 4.5% 1.8% Atheists
Ethnoreligionists
4.6% 3.4%

A religious world 6.2% 5.7%
Chinese
folk-religionists

6.4% 7.1% Buddhists
For the period 1970–2020, several global trends related to
religious affiliation are apparent. In 1970, nearly 82% of the
world’s population was religious. By 2010 this had grown 14.7% 8.9% Agnostics
to around 88%, with a projected increase to almost 90%
by 2020. Religious adherence is growing largely due to Hindus
the continuing resurgence of religion in China. In addition, 12.5% 14.0%
in 1970 Christianity and Islam represented 48.8% of the
global population; by 2020 they will likely represent 57.2%.
The global North is becoming more religiously diverse, with Muslims
more countries becoming home to a greater number of the 15.6% 23.9%
world’s religions. However, religious diversity is decreas-
ing in many countries in the global South with the growth of
mainly one religion, most commonly Christianity or Islam. Christians

33.2% 33.3%
1970 2020

Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Shift of Christianity to the South
Christians by continent, 1970–2020 Evangelized
The twentieth century experienced the
great shift of Christianity
_Oceania to the global
100% South, a trend that will continue into the
Latin America future. In 1970,_Northern
41.3% of all Christians
America
Europe were from Africa, Asia, or Latin America.
Percentage of total population

80% Northern America
Oceania By 2020, this figure is expected to be
_Latin America
64.7%. Between 1970 and 2020, each
60%
of the six major_Europe
Christian traditions is
Africa expected to grow more rapidly than the
_Asia
40% general population in the global South.
Simultaneously,_Africa
Christianity is declining
20%
as a percentage of the population in the
global North at a dramatic rate. Birth
Asia
rates in many European countries in
0% particular are below replacement level,
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 and populations are aging. The signifi-
Year cance of the global shift was recently
Center for the Study of Global Christianity, demonstrated in the election of Cardi-
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
nal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos
Aires, Argentina, as Pope Francis, the
first Latin American head of the Roman
Catholic Church.

Regional changes in Christianity

Christianity is expected to grow as a proportion of Africa’s population, from 143 million in 1970 (38.7% of
the continent’s population), to 630 million by 2020 (49.3%, see table on page 7). In Asia, Christianity is
growing more that twice as fast as the general population, mostly through conversions, though it is still a
minority religion there (only 8.2% in 2010). In Europe, Latin America, and Northern America Christianity is
declining as a percentage of the population. Latin American Christians, however, represent an increasing
share of the global Christian population, up from 22.0% in 1970 to 23.5% by 2020, and Evangelical and
Renewalist Christianity is growing rapidly there. In Europe, individuals are increasingly leaving the faith,
mainly to agnosticism and atheism, and many European countries have rapidly aging populations and birth
rates below replacement level. A new trend in Northern America is the rise of the unaffiliated (those who
would check “none of the above” on a survey about religion), both religious and non-religious. The internal
makeup of Christianity in Oceania is expected to change due to secularization, missionary efforts, and im-
migration, with increasing Orthodox, Marginal, and Independent communities.

Growing Renewalist movements Renewalists by type and tradition, 1970 & 2020
Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are best
conceptualized as part of a single, interconnected Pentecostals
Pentecostals
115.2 million
set of movements (together called “Renewalists”) 14.5 million Independent
Charismatics
of three distinct types (Pentecostals, Charismatics, 312.7 million
and Independent Charismatics). Renewalists num- Charismatics
bered 62.7 million in 1970 and are expected to 4.3 million
Independent
grow to 709.8 million by 2020. In 1970, Renewal- Charismatics Charismatics
ists were 5.1% of all Christians, but by 2010 they 43.9 million 281.9 million
had grown to 25.8% (averaging 4.1% growth per
year between 1970 and 2010). Looking forward to 1970 2020
2020, it is expected that Renewalist movements Anglicans Catholics Independents Marginals Orthodox Protestants
will grow almost twice as fast as global Christian-
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

ity as a whole, to represent 27.8% of all Christians. Renewalists grew the fastest in Asia and Latin America
over the 40-year period and will grow most rapidly in Asia and Africa over the 10-year period. The growth of
Renewalist Christianity in these three areas has been astounding: from 18.8 million in 1970 to 226.2 million
by 2020 in Africa, from 12.8 million to 203.1 million in Latin America, and from 9.3 million to 165.6 million in
Asia.

Personal contact with Christians

The data on personal contact have their origins in a simple concept: proximity. The countries in which there
is least personal contact between religionists are overwhelmingly Muslim-majority countries. On a regional
basis, only 10% of individuals in Western Asia and 11% in Northern Africa are thought to have personal
contact with a Christian. Atheists and agnostics have more contact with Christians than do most other
religionists. In one sense this is not surprising, given that many non-religionists, at least in the global North
and Latin America, are former Christians. More surprising, however, is that agnostics have less contact with
Christians than do atheists. Globally, Muslims have less contact with Christians than do Jews; in some indi-
vidual regions Muslim contact is much higher than
average, while for Jews this is not the case. High
Religionists who know a Christian, 2010
levels of contact by atheists and agnostics mask 100

100
low levels of contact among religious populations
in many parts of the world. In Northern America, 80

Percentage who know a Christian
80
for example, 80% of other religionists have per-
sonal contact with a Christian. Removing atheists 60 60

and agnostics from the calculation reduces the
figure to only 40%. The decline is even greater 40
40

in Northern Europe, from 82% to 21%. However,
more religious people know a Christian in Western 20
20

In a twenty-first-century context, an increasing
number of Christians are recognizing the need for
mission and social justice to go hand-in-hand. As Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
a result, this report presents findings concerning
both, including missionaries sent and received, peoples in migration, slum dwellers, and global poverty.
Countries of the global South are sending increasing numbers of international missionaries, and countries
of the global North are receiving increasing numbers of missionaries. Among key social issues, the poor-
est children have made the slowest progress in terms of improved nutrition, and hunger remains a global
challenge. Between 2006 and 2009, 850 million people around the world still lived in hunger, 15.5% of the
world’s population. Even though extreme poverty has decreased, progress has been slow in reducing child
malnutrition. In 2010, nearly one in five children globally was underweight, including one third of children
in Southern Asia. Each of the major Christian traditions has over time developed strong theological founda-
tions for social action and is actively engaged today. Current efforts tend to dovetail with those initiated by
the United Nations and individual governments.

Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020: Society, Religion, and Mission illustrates that fundamental
shifts in the demographics of global Christianity and religion are continuing into the twenty-first century. The
percentage of Christians from the global South is still increasing, but the personal contact gap between
Christians and non-Christians continues to be very wide. Christians are also struggling, along with the
entire development community, to address critical social and economic issues. A central problem appears
to be uneven resource distribution in a multitude of areas. Christian resources are poorly deployed and not
reaching those who could benefit most from them, in terms of both mission and social action. Yet, Christian
involvement in spiritual and social transformation has never been greater, and it remains to be seen how
effective Christians in both the North and the South will be in carrying out global, integral mission.

In this report, “global North” and “global South” are defined in geopolitical terms according to the United
Nations. The global North includes Europe and Northern America, while the global South includes Asia,
Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.

Who is a Christian?

The World Christian Database defines “Christians” as “followers of Jesus Christ of all kinds; all traditions
and confessions; and all degrees of commitment.” Christians are enumerated in two primary ways: first,
from the point of view of the state, society at large, or the general public, such as in government censuses
or public opinion polls; and second, from the perspective of the churches, where denominations report
membership figures (usually including children).

The World Christian Database divides global Christianity into six major traditions: Anglicans, Independents,
Marginals, Orthodox, Protestants, and Roman Catholics. Marginals include individuals who hold most main-
stream Christian doctrines but with significant theological differences from most other people who iden-
tify themselves as Christians (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints). Independent movements are those that are separate from historical denominationalist Christianity
(the other five traditions), and exist predominantly in Africa and Asia. For more detailed methodological
notes, see part V of this report.

Religionists

In this report, “religionist” refers to both religious and nonreligious people (agnostics and atheists), except
in discussions of personal contact, where “religionists” means the entire population other than Christians.
Inherent in data on personal contact is the assumption that all Christians know a Christian, so percentage
figures do not include Christians. In addition, “religious” people are defined as people who are adherents
of any religion, not including atheists or agnostics.

Renewalists

Pentecostals are defined here as those who are associated with denominations that identify themselves in
explicitly Pentecostal terms, or with other denominations that as a whole are phenomenologically Pentecos-
tal in teaching and practice. Charismatic movements consist of Pentecostal individuals within the Anglican,
Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions, designating renewal within an existing tradition. Inde-
pendent Charismatics are found in churches that have emerged from established Pentecostal and Charis-
matic denominations and are no longer affiliated with their “home” denomination. Each Renewal movement
emphasizes particular gifts of the Spirit to varying degrees, including speaking in tongues and signs and
wonders.

World religions
Increases and decreases in adherents of the world’s Global religious adherence, 1970–2020
religions can be tracked by three sets of empirical
population data: (1) births and deaths; (2) converts to 100%
Non-religious
and converts from; and (3) immigrants and emigrants.

Percetage of world population
Births, converts to, and immigrants track increases, 80%
while deaths, converts from, and emigrants track
decreases. Taking into consideration each of these
60%
factors for all of the world’s major religions allows for
a more comprehensive picture of religious change on
both the global and local levels. (Migration is consid- 40%
Religious
ered in more depth in Part IV of this report.)
20%
The world in 2010 was more religious than in 1970,
and this trend will continue to 2020 and perhaps
0%
beyond. The year 1970 was the symbolic height of 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
the world’s agnostic and atheist populations, which at
Year
that time together claimed 19.2% of the total popula-
tion (see figure at right). While secularization had been Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
slowly in progress around the world, especially in Eu-
rope, the numbers of agnostics and atheists increased
greatly under Communism in Eastern Europe and China. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991,
large numbers of the non-religious returned to religion. One of the most profound examples is Albania,
the first officially atheistic state, which in 2010 was 62.7% Muslim and 31.6% Christian. Russia also expe-
rienced a resurgence of religion, rising from 38.4% Christian in 1970 to 71.2% in 2010, with a projected
increase to 81.2% by 2020 (these gains are being made primarily by the Russian Orthodox Church).

Projections to 2020 indicate a sustained decrease of the
Religious adherents, 1970 & 2020 global share of the non-religious. This is due primarily to the
resurgence of Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions in
2.3% 1.9% Other China, and Christianity in Eastern Europe. If this trend con-
4.5% 1.8% Atheists tinues, agnostics and atheists will be a smaller portion of the
4.6% 3.4% Ethnoreligionists world’s population in 2020 than they were in 2010. Although
Chinese the number of atheists and agnostics continues to rise in the
6.2% 5.7%
folk-religionists Western world, the current growth of a variety of religions
6.4% 7.1% Buddhists
in China in particular (where the vast majority of the non-
religious live today) suggests continued future demographic
growth of religion. From the point of view of 1970–2010,
14.7% 8.9% Agnostics there has been a global religious resurgence, and it seems
likely to continue into the future.
Hindus
12.5% 14.0%
Two religions, Christianity and Islam, dominate religious de-
mographics and seem poised to continue that dominance in
the future. In 1970 these two religions represented 48.8% of
Muslims
the global population, and by 2020 they will likely represent
15.6% 23.9%
57.2%. While both Christianity and Islam are flourishing in
sub-Saharan Africa, present data suggest that neither faith is
likely to expand as rapidly in this region in the years ahead
Christians as it did in the twentieth century (except possibly through
natural population growth) as the pool of converts, primar-
33.2% 33.3% ily from ethnoreligions, becomes proportionally smaller.
1970 2020 However, though Muslim birth rates have fallen significantly
in Muslim-majority countries since 1990, Muslims generally
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013 report much higher birth rates than non-Muslims. Due to

high fertility rates in the past, a large number of Muslim youth are now entering their child-bearing years,
causing the demographic momentum to continue into the future. Birth rates among Christians are diverse,
given falling rates among Europeans and relatively high rates among Africans.

The table below allows for comparisons of projected religious growth rates from 2010–20. The fastest-grow-
ing religions over the 10-year period are likely to be the Baha’i faith (1.7% per annum), Islam (1.6%), Sikh-
ism (1.4%), Jainism (1.3%), Christianity (1.2%), and Hinduism (1.2%). Each of these is growing faster than
the world’s population (1.1%). Only Zoroastrians are projected to experience net losses in their numbers of
adherents over the same period. Zoroastrianism is not typically a proselytzing religion, and thus it has little
opportunity to receive converts. Birth rates among Zoroastrians are also particularly low.

South-central Asia is an area of particular interest looking forward to 2020. Significantly, this region in-
cludes the countries forecast to have very large populations globally of both Muslims and Hindus in 2020
(Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India). The addition of millions more Hindus and Muslims is likely to compound
social, economic, and religious pressures in a region already simmering from longstanding inter-communal
tensions. A new generation of peacemakers at local, national, and regional levels will be challenged to
bridge the divide between these religious communities.

Foundational to the reality of a changing religious landscape are the increases and decreases in religious
diversity in the world’s countries and regions. An increase in religious diversity also will be particularly
apparent in the global North, where secularization and immigration will continue to transform the religious
landscape. In the global South, however, many countries will continue to see growth mainly in one religion,
most likely Christianity or Islam, thus decreasing overall diversity.

Global Christianity
Christian distribution by continent, 1970–2020
In 1910, over 80% of the world’s Christians lived in the
global North. By 1970 Christians could be found in all Oceania
100%
of the world’s countries, but their distribution among Northern America
countries and regions was still far from even. The global
South was home to 76% of the world’s total popula- 80%

Percetage of all Christians
Latin America
tion in 1970 but only 43% of all Christians. By 2010 the
figure for each had risen, but the gap between them had 60%
narrowed: 84% of all people, and 59% of all Christians, Europe
lived in the global South. Those percentages are ex-
pected to increase to 85% of all people and 66% of all 40%
Asia
Christians by 2020. The figures would be even higher if
not for emigration from the South to the North. 20%
Africa

Continental perspective 0%
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Looking at the world by continents and regions gives a Year
better picture of the changes that have taken place. In Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
1970 Europe was home to 40.0% of all Christians, almost Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

as many as in the entire global South (see graph above).
By 2010 Europe’s share had fallen to 25.7% due to secularization there as well as growth by conversions
and births in the global South. In addition, the line graph below illustrates the changing concentrations
of Chrisitans in each of the continents, with Africa and Asia rising and Northern America, Europe, Latin
America, and Oceania declining.

Although Europe still claimed the largest share of Christians of any continent, it was much closer to the
shares of all Christians found in Latin America (24.1%, up from 22.0% in 1970) and in Africa (21.8%, nearly
double its 11.6% share in 1970). Due to the continued growth of Christianity in Africa, the share of all Chris-
tians living on that continent is expected to rise to 24.7% by 2020, surpassing that of both Latin America
(23.5%) and Europe (22.8%). Asia has also seen its share of all Christians nearly double, from 7.8% in 1970
to 15.2% in 2010 and a projected 16.6% in 2020. Northern America, meanwhile, has seen its share fall from
17.2% in 1970 to 12.0% in 2010 (and an expected 11.3% by 2020).

When the figures are viewed at the re-
_Oceania
100% gional level, a slightly different picture
Latin America emerges (see table on page
_Northern 7). In 1970
America
Europe Northern America had more Christians
Percentage of total population

80% Northern America
Oceania (17.2% of the global total) than any other
_Latin America
United Nations region, followed by South
60% America (14.8%). The four regions of Eu-
_Europe
Africa rope, ranging from Eastern Europe’s 12.9%
_Asia
40% down to Northern Europe’s 6.2%, ranked
next largest. By_Africa
2010, however, South
20%
America (16.0%) had surpassed Northern
America (12.0%) as the region with the
Asia
largest share of all Christians. The growth
0% of Christianity in Eastern Africa meant
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 that that region had a larger share of all
Year Christians (9.8%, up from 4.5% in 1970)
Center for the Study of Global Christianity, than any European region except East-
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
ern Europe (11.0%). South-eastern Asia’s

share (5.8%) now equaled that of Western Europe, while Eastern Asia’s (5.6%) equaled Southern Europe’s.
In 2020, South America is expected to still have the largest share of Christians among regions, although it
will have dropped slightly, to 15.5%. Eastern Africa, however, will surpass Northern America as home to the
second-largest Christian population (both with approximately 11.3% of all Christians).

The graph belows illustrates that eleven of the world’s 21 regions will have lower overall percentages of
Christians in 2020 than in 1970. This is the case primarily in the global North and Oceania.

Australia/New Zealand
Melanesia
Micronesia
Polynesia
Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Country perspective

Looking at the data on the country level gives an even better picture of the increasing spread of Christians
around the world. In 1970 the ten countries with the largest Christian populations were home to 53.5% of
all Christians globally. Seven of those ten countries were in the global North (the exceptions were Brazil,
Mexico, and the Philippines). By 2010 only four of the ten countries with the most Christians were in the
North. The percentage of Christians in these ten countries (not the same countries as in 1970) had fallen
to 48.3%, indicating that Christians were more widely distributed in 2010 than in 1970. By 2020 only two
countries from the global North (the United States and Russia) will be in the “top ten”—whose share of all
Christians will have risen to 48.8% because of growing Christian populations in China and India, the world’s
two most populous countries.

Evangelicals
What exactly defines a Christian as an Evangelical, and how many are there in the world today? This analy-
sis details two working definitions of the term found in the World Christian Database (WCD; Brill, 2007) and
Operation World (OW; Biblica, 2010) and specifies how these definitions result in differing estimates. The
WCD and OW are the only two sources that report on Evangelicalism as a global movement, taking into
consideration regional research, in particular surveys and polls.
Evan
Evangelicals by continent, 1970–2020
World Christian Database
20%

Percentage of continental population
The World Christian Database (WCD) is
an online resource based on the World 16%
Christian Encyclopedia (Oxford Uni- Northern America
versity Press, 1982, 2001) and World 12%
Oceania
Africa
Christian Trends (William Carey Library,
2001). Data for the WCD are constantly Latin America
8%
gathered, analyzed, and updated by
full-time staff at the Center for the Study
of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell 4%
Europe
Theological Seminary (South Hamilton,
Asia
MA, USA). 0%
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
The WCD currently uses a “structural” Year
approach in defining Evangelicals: Evan-
gelicalism is a movement, primarily within Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Protestantism, consisting of all affiliated
church members self-identifying as Evangelicals. Christians are also considered Evangelicals when they
are members of an Evangelical church, congregation, or denomination. Characteristics of Evangelicals
include personalized religion (including being “born again”), dependence on the Bible as the word of God,
and regular preaching and/or evangelism. This structural approach leads the WCD to claim that there are
706 Evangelical denominations worldwide with a total of around 300 million adherents in 2010.

Operation World

Since 1964 there have been seven editions of Operation World (OW), with the most recent edition released
in October 2010. Begun by Patrick Johnstone and currently continued by Molly Wall, Operation World is an
easy-to-read, accessible resource intended primarily for missionaries and missions-minded laypeople (that
is to say, Evangelicals).

Operation World’s philosophy of defining and counting Evangelicals focuses on the theology of Evangeli-
calism in defining adherents, not so much the structure or experience of believers (as in the case of the
WCD). Evangelicals are largely Protestant, Independent or Anglican, but some are Catholic or Orthodox.
OW defines Evangelicals as affiliated church members who hold to four qualities: grounded belief in the
crucified Christ, an experience of a personal conversion, theological foundation in the Bible as the word of
God, and active missionary evangelism or preaching of the gospel.

Similar to the World Christian Database, the editors of OW calculate the number of Evangelicals by assessing
denominations. The editors look at each denomination and determine what percentage of that group is similar
in theology and practice to their definition of “Evangelical.” While many denominations would be considered
100% Evangelical by both the WCD and OW, numerous others do not meet the stricter self-definition criterion
of the WCD. These would be assigned a higher Evangelical percentage by the editors of OW.

Using this method, OW states that there were about 550 million Evangelicals worldwide in 2010.

The difference between the OW and WCD definitions lies largely in that OW uses a theological measur-
ing stick when enumerating Evangelicals. The WCD is rooted in similar denominational data but follows a
structural definition. The WCD defines particular denominations as Evangelical, therefore considering all
members on the rolls of those denominations’ churches Evangelical Christians (these denominations typi-
cally have historical ties to the Reformation). OW’s theologically-based estimate of 550 million Evangelicals
is significantly higher than the WCD’s structural estimate of 300 million.

These two authoritative sources illustrate that counting Evangelical Christians results in a range of esti-
mates. It can be difficult to compare the estimates since they are generated from different definitions, meth-
odologies, and categories. Evangelicalism is not a monochromatic phenomenon, despite many similarities
in theology and experience. Nonetheless, it can likely be generally agreed that there were between 300
and 500 million Evangelicals in the world in 2010.

On the global level, Evangelicalism is expected to sustain substantial growth looking forward to 2020
(around 2% per annum). Operation World cites Evangelicalism as growing much faster between 1970 and
2020 (3.3%) than the World Christian Database (2.6%). However, over the ten-year period between 2010
and 2020, OW has the movement growing more slowly than the WCD, 1.8% compared to 2.0% per year.
Both sources report Evangelicalism growing the fastest in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with around 4%
growth per year. Northern America is the continent with the highest Evangelical percentage of the total
population in both 2010 and 2020. Despite the historic home of Evangelicalism being in Europe, that con-
tinent has far fewer Evangelicals than Africa, Asia, Northern America, and Latin America in terms of both
hard numbers and percentage (and fewer in terms of percentage than Oceania) in 2010 and 2020.

Pentecostals
Renewalists by type and tradition, 1970 & 2020
Pentecostals and Charismatics are best concep-
tualized as a single, interconnected set of move- Pentecostals
Pentecostals
ments (termed “Renewalists”). However, the move- 14.5 million Independent
115.2 million
ment can be considered in a series of three types. Charismatics
312.7 million
Charismatics
Pentecostals (Type 1) 4.3 million
Independent
Charismatics Charismatics
Pentecostals are defined here as those who are 43.9 million 281.9 million
associated with denominations that identify them-
selves in explicitly Pentecostal terms, or with other 1970 2020
denominations that as a whole are phenomenologi- Anglicans Catholics Independents Marginals Orthodox Protestants
cally Pentecostal in teaching and practice. Pen-
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
tecostal denominations believe that all Christians Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
should seek a post-conversion religious experi-
ence called “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” and that a Spirit-baptized believer may receive one or more of the
supernatural gifts known in the early church, especially speaking in tongues.

Type 2 recognizes the existence of Pentecostal individuals within the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Ortho-
dox, and Protestant traditions. These are designated “Charismatic” and evaluated by country as Catholic
Charismatics, Anglican Charismatics, and so on, designating renewal within an existing tradition. Charis-
matics usually describe themselves as having been “renewed in the Spirit,” a powerful supernatural event.
They remain and form organized renewal groups within their older mainline non-Pentecostal denominations
rather than leaving to join Pentecostal denominations. Like Pentecostals, they report some or all of the gifts
of the Spirit, including signs and wonders, but with speaking in tongues regarded as optional.

Thousands of schismatic or other independent Charismatic churches have emerged from established Pen-
tecostal and Charismatic denominations; these independents now number more than either of the first two

types. They consist of Christians who, unrelated to or no longer affiliated with the Pentecostal or Charismat-
ic denominations, exercise gifts of the Spirit (with much less emphasis on tongues) and emphasize signs
and wonders. They do not identify themselves as either Pentecostals (Type 1) or Charismatics (Type 2).

Over the period 1970–2010 Renewalist 40%
movements grew at nearly four times the
Percentage of continental population

growth rates of both Christianity and the
world’s population. Looking forward to 30% Latin America
2020, they are expected to grow almost
twice as fast as both. In 2010, Renewalists
Northern America
made up over one quarter of all Christians 20%
worldwide; this percentage will continue to Africa
increase in the future. In terms of the types
of Renewalist movements, Charismatics 10%
Oceania
were the fastest growing over the 40-year
period (1970–2010), but Pentecostals will Europe
Asia
grow faster than the other two types over 0%
the 10-year period (2010–20). Renewalists 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
are growing the fastest in Asia and Latin Year
America over the 40-year period, and in
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Asia and Africa over the 10-year period. In Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
2020, Latin America will have the highest
percentage of Renewalists, followed by Northern America and Africa.

In 1970 the three largest Renewalist populations were in the United States, Brazil, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. DR Congo contained a much higher concentration of Pentecostal Christians than any
other country (23.8%) due to the growing presence of indigenous African movements with Pentecostal
characteristics in the twentieth century. In 2020, the countries with the most Renewalists will likely be Brazil,
the United States, China, and Nigeria.

Center for the Study of Global Christianity • Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
19
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Part III: Regional data
Christianity in its Global Context • Regional data

Africa
Christianity

In 1910, only 9% of Africa’s population was Christian, and 80% of
Christians lived in just four countries: Ethiopia, South Africa, Egypt,
and Madagascar. By 1970 Africa’s Christian percentage had risen to
38.7%, many of whom were converts from ethnoreligions in sub-Saha-
ran Africa. In 2010 the Christian percentage was 48.3%, and by 2020
it is expected to reach 49.3%.

Roman Catholics form the largest bloc of Christians in Africa. Between
1970 and 2010 their numbers increased from 44.9 million (12.2% of
the population) to 197.0 million (17.3%). In 2010 the Catholic share of church members (34.2%) was lower
than in 1970 (38.3%). However, projections for 2020 show an increase to 35.2%. Independents have seen
their share of the total population and church members decrease recently, although they are still higher in
2010 than in 1970. The Orthodox share of both has declined steadily since 1970, a trend that is predicted
to continue.

Anglicans have seen the fastest growth over the 50-year period: from 7.7 million in 1970 (2.1% of the total
population and 8.5% of church members) to 50.8 million in 2010 (5.0% and 13.5%, respectively) and 65.1
million in 2020 (5.1% and 13.5%). Marginal Christian groups are expected to experience the fastest growth
for 2010–20.

Nigeria had the largest total populations of four out of the six major Christian traditions in 2010 (Anglicans,
Independents, Marginals, and Protestants), up from one (Anglicans) in 1970. Ethiopia and the Democratic
Republic Congo remain home to the largest populations of Orthodox and Roman Catholics, respectively.

The countries with the largest percentage of each tradition among the total population remain unchanged
over 1970–2020 for four of the traditions (Nigeria for Anglicans and Protestants, Ethiopia for Orthodox, and
DR Congo for Roman Catholics). Swaziland is home to the highest percentage of Independents for 2010–
20 (versus DR Congo in 1970), whereas DR Congo is expected to replace Zambia as home to the highest
percentage of Marginal Christians by 2020.

Religion

Africa experienced the greatest religious change of any continent over the twentieth century. By 1970 Mus-
lims (40.0%) had replaced ethnoreligionists (20.5%) as the largest group of religious adherents. Ironically,
this occurred largely through ethnoreligionists becoming Christians (38.7% of Africa’s population by 1970).
This pattern—larger numbers of ethnoreligionists converting to Christianity than to Islam—has continued,
so that by 2010 Africa was 48.3% Christian, 41.7% Muslim, and 8.7% ethnoreligionist. The Christian per-
centage is expected to increase slightly by 2020, while the Muslim and ethnoreligionist percentages are

projected to decline slightly. Religious affiliation
in Africa, 1970 & 2020
Sharp regional differences exist in the distribution
0.8% 1.2%
of religionists in Africa. Eastern Africa was home to Other
44.7% of Africa’s Christians in 2010, up from 38.6%
in 1970. This will rise to 45.9% by 2020. Most of the
rest lived in Middle and Southern Africa, with North-
ern Africa home to the fewest (2.1% of the continent’s 20.5% 7.9% Ethnoreligionists
2010 total). Meanwhile, Northern Africa had 43.7% of
Africa’s Muslims in 2010, with Western Africa home
to another 36.4% (compared to 51.1% and 31.3%,
respectively, in 1970 and 40.9% and 38.5% in 2020).
Southern Africa has the smallest Muslim population of
any region in 2010 (0.2% of Africa’s total). Muslims
40.0% 41.5%
Ethnoreligionists in 2010 were found mostly in East-
ern Africa (43.4% of Africa’s total) and Western Africa
(41.0%), compared to 43.9% and 39.1%, respectively,
in 1970, and 44.8% and 40.2%, respectively, in 2020.
No other religion claims more than 1% of the conti-
Christians
nent’s population in 2010 (agnostics are closest, at
0.6%; 42.6% of agnostics live in Southern Africa). Hin-
dus, Jews, and Buddhists are concentrated in South- 38.7% 49.3%
ern Africa as well, while most Chinese folk-religionists 1970 2020
and Baha’is are in Eastern Africa. Atheists, on the
other hand, are surprisingly evenly distributed. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Despite the large proportion of the population in Africa
that is Muslim, Muslims have little interaction with Christians compared to other religious adherents. Only
20% of Muslims in Africa personally knew a Christian in 2010, compared to 47% of ethnoreligionists. Many
of the smaller religions on the continent, like Baha’is and Buddhists, have more interactions with Christians
(86% and 42%, respectively).

Religionists in Africa Society
who know a Christian, 2010
100
Africa is the world’s least-developed continent. Al-
though individual countries have made advances to-
100

80
ward meeting the Millennium Development Goals—
notably Egypt (one of the world’s most successful),
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
Burkina Faso, and Morocco—many more have had
only limited progress. The continent as a whole
60

Africa as well. A Muslim-Christian “fault line” of sorts
stretches across the continent, and ideological and
physical clashes between the two religions seem
likely to intensify in the near future.
*Few or none Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
present in region Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Eastern Africa experienced a profound transformation of its religious
landscape over the twentieth century. By 1970, 49.4% of the region’s
population was Christian. The Christian proportion of the region’s
population increased to 65.9% by 2010, and it is projected to reach
67.0% in 2020. At that time Eastern Africa will be home to almost 45%
of Africa’s Christians (up from about 39% in 1970), including 45% of
Protestants, 53% of Anglicans, and 84% of all Orthodox in Africa.

Christians will constitute a majority of the population in 14 of East-
ern Africa’s 20 countries in 2020 (and a near-majority in a fifteenth, Eritrea), rising from 11 in 1970. The
countries in which Christians will constitute the largest share of the population in 2020 are projected to be
Seychelles (92.3%, down from 98.3% in 1970), Burundi (93.3%, up from 73.4%), Rwanda (94.2%, up from
61.1%), and Zambia (88.2%, up from 67.0%). In contrast, three are projected to be less than 1% Christian
in 2020—Somalia (<0.1%), Comoros (0.5%), and Mayotte (0.5%)—with Djibouti at 1.8%. Each of these has
a Muslim majority.

Roman Catholics will continue to be the largest major tradition in the region, increasing from 17.1% of the
total regional population in 1970 to 22.3% in 2010 and 23.2% in 2020. Protestants more than doubled their
share of the total population between 1970 and 2000 (from 7.0% to 17.5%), replacing Orthodox (whose
share rose only slightly, from 10.9% to 11.1%) as the region’s second-largest major tradition. The gap is
projected to widen further by 2020 (18.6% Protestant versus 10.1% Orthodox). Independents and Angli-
cans have seen their shares of the total population rise substantially as well (with projected 2020 popula-

tion shares of 7.5% and 8.0%, up from 3.4% and 2.8% Religious affiliation
respectively in 1970). in Eastern Africa, 1970 & 2020
1.1% 1.1% Other
Religion

The growth of Christianity in Eastern Africa has been
mainly at the expense of ethnoreligions. The latter
declined from 29.8% of the total population in 1970 to 29.8% 10.5%
Ethnoreligionists
11.6% in 2010 (placing it third, behind Islam), with a
further decline to 10.5% expected by 2020. Although
Muslims have experienced numerical growth over the
period as well, it has been at a rate closer to that of the Muslims
19.7% 21.4%
general population. As a result, Muslims’ share of the
total population has risen only slightly, from 19.7% in
1970 to 21.4% in both 2010 and 2020. Though adher-
ents of other religions are increasing in number, their
combined share of the region’s total population (1.1%)
is the same in 2020 as in 1970.

Each of the four countries with a Muslim majority in Christians
2010 is at least 96% Muslim (Comoros, Djibouti, May-
otte, and Somalia). In seven other countries, Muslims
constitute at least 10% of the population (including 49.4% 67.0%
Eritrea, where Christians and Muslims are each about 1970 2020
50% of the total population).
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Ethnoreligionists exceeded 10% in only six countries
in 2010, down from 12 in 1970. By 2020 they will exceed 10% in only five countries: Madagascar (38.2%),
South Sudan (29.6%), Mozambique (28.1%), Zimbabwe (11.9%), and Tanzania (10.9%), although blend-
ing of traditional religious beliefs with Christianity is likely to continue. The only other religion having at least
10% adherence in any country is Hinduism in Mauritius (46.2% of the population in 1970, falling to 44.2% in
2010 and 43.6% by 2020). Compared to Africa as a whole, more religionists personally know a Christian in
Eastern Africa (43%, compared to the continent’s 25%).

Society
Religionists in Eastern Africa
who know a Christian, 2010 Despite being home to such large cities as Addis
100
Ababa, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam, Eastern Africa
is the least-urbanized region on the continent. Urban
100

80
dwellers were only 23.7% of the region’s population
in 2010, far below both the continent-wide average
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
of 39.9% and Middle Africa (42.9%). In fact, glob-
ally, only Melanesia had a lower urban percentage
60

40
(19.2%).
40

20
Countries in the region continue to experience dif-
ficulty in meeting many Millennium Development
20

batting malnutrition. How to provide for their growing
populations without dependence on external assis-
tance, especially if compounded by additional chal-
lenges brought on by urbanization, is likely to be an
*Few or none Center for the Study of Global Christianity, ongoing challenge for the region.
present in region Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Middle Africa experienced a drastic alteration in its religious make-up
during the twentieth century. In 1910 the region was 94.5% ethnore-
ligionist and only 1.1% Christian. By 1970, however, Christians made
up 73.9% of the population, and ethnoreligionists had fallen to 16.9%.
This pattern has continued to the present: Christians constituted
82.6% of the region’s population in 2010, a figure that is expected to
rise to 83.3% in 2020.

Christians formed a majority of the population in eight of the region’s
nine countries in 2010, ranging from 96.1% in Sao Tome & Principe to 58.1% in Cameroon; they were a
minority only in Chad (34.8%). Other countries exceeding 90% Christian were DR Congo (95.0%) and An-
gola (93.3%). Christian percentages are expected to rise in most countries in the region between 2010 and
2020, with exceptions in Sao Tome & Principe (96.0%, down from 96.1%), Congo (to 89.5% from 89.8%),
and Equatorial Guinea (to 88.5% from 88.7%).

Roman Catholics are by far the largest group of Christians in the region, representing 47.0% of the total
population in 2010 and 47.5% in 2020, up from 38.3% in 1970. No tradition could claim such a large share
of any other African region’s total population in the period 1970–2020, although Independents in Southern
Africa are approaching it (growing from 19.1% of the total population there in 1970 to 37.3% in 2010 and
37.6% by 2020). Catholics are also the largest Christian tradition in each country in Middle Africa, rep-
resenting a majority or near majority of Christians. However, their share of church members in the region
actually fell somewhat between 1970 and 2010, from 58.0% to 56.4% (rising slightly to 56.5% in 2020), as
other Christian groups experienced even more rapid growth. For example, Protestants grew from 7.0% of
the total population of Angola in 1970 to 26.7% in 2010 (28.5% in 2020).

Religion

Muslims currently constitute the second-largest group of religious adherents in the region, growing from
8.6% of the total population in 1970 to 9.7% in 2010 and 9.8% in 2020. They represent a majority of the
population in Chad (55.9% in 2010) and sizeable minorities in Cameroon (20.0%), Central Africa Republic
(13.7%), and Equatorial Guinea (10.2%). Ethnoreligionists, meanwhile, declined from 16.9% of the region’s
population in 1970 to 6.7% in 2010 and are predicted to drop to 5.8% in 2020. Ethnoreligionists exceeded
10% of the population in only two countries in 2010, Cameroon (20.9%) and the Central African Republic

(14.0%). These percentages are expected to continue Religious affiliation
declining in both countries by 2020 (to 19.1% and in Middle Africa, 1970 & 2020
11.2%, respectively), as well as in every other country
0.6% 1.1%
in the region except Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome Other
& Principe.
Ethnoreligionists
Other notable populations of religionists in individual 16.9% 5.8%
countries include Baha’is in Sao Tome & Principe (up
from 0.1% of the total population in 1970 to 2.4% in
2010 and 2.3% in 2020); atheists in Equatorial Guinea 8.6% 9.8% Muslims
(up from 1.0% in 1970 to 1.8% in both 2010 and 2020);
and agnostics in Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Gabon,
and Sao Tome & Principe. While agnostics’ share of
the population has held steady in Equatorial Guinea
(3.4% in 1970 and 3.3% in 2020), it has increased
noticeably in the other countries, especially DR Congo,
where it is expected to rise to 3.4% in 2020 (from 0.5%
in 1970 and 3.0% in 2010). Christians

Middle Africa is less religiously diverse than other
regions in Africa (in terms of the number of religions
present). Interestingly, Middle Africa and Eastern
Africa have the highest composite levels of personal 73.9% 83.3%
contact with Christians (43% in each). Greater contact 1970 2020
by atheists, agnositcs, and ethnoreligionists in Middle
Africa makes up for higher levels of contact among Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
other religionists in Eastern Africa.

Society

Middle Africa is one of the most undeveloped/underdeveloped areas of the world. The United Nations Eco-
nomic and Social Council classifies six of the region’s nine countries as Least Developed Countries based
on per capita income, human assets (which encom-
Religionists in Middle Africa pass many of the criteria assessed in the Millennium
who know a Christian, 2010 Development Goals), and economic vulnerability
(which includes heightened susceptibility to natural
disasters and changes in trade and exports, as well
100
100

as sizes and remoteness of populations). Several
countries in the region have been among the least
80
Percentage who know a Christian
80

successful in meeting the Millennium Development
Goals; DR Congo in particular is tied for last place
60
60

Northern Africa is the only region in Africa to experience a decline in
the percentage of Christians in the population over the period 1970–
2020, continuing a trend that dates back to at least the beginning of
the twentieth century. The Christian share of the regional population
fell from 8.1% in 1970 to 5.2% in 2010 and is predicted to decline to
4.7% in 2020, despite an increase in the actual number of Christians
over that period.

Egypt was home to 90% of the region’s Christians in 1970. By 2010
that figure had declined to 80%, due mainly to the dramatic increase in the Christian population of Sudan
(1.6 million, or 17.2% of the regional total, up from 318,000 and 4.7% in 1970). That figure would be higher
if not for conflict-induced migration of Christians from Sudan to South Sudan and elsewhere.

Immigrants and/or expatriates constitute the majority of Christians in Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western
Sahara; they also form a sizeable minority of Christians in Sudan. Egypt has seen the Christian percentage
of its population decline steadily, from 16.9% in 1970 to 10.1% in 2010 and a predicted 9.1% in 2020, de-
spite an increase in absolute numbers. The situation is similar in Sudan. In Western Sahara both the num-
ber of Christians and the Christian percentage plunged between 1970 and 2010 (from over 31,000 to only
800 and from 41.2% to 0.2%) due to the departure of foreigners following Spanish decolonization. Algeria
saw a similar drop, albeit on a much smaller scale. The Christian populations of both countries are showing
growth for the period 2010–20; in Tunisia and in Morocco, however, the number of Christians is expected to
decline between 2010 and 2020.

In 1970 Orthodox were by far the largest Christian tradition in the region. At almost 6 million adherents
(7.1% of the total population and 88% of church members), they outnumbered all other Christian traditions
combined. By 2020 their share will be only 72.3%, however, due largely to an increase by Roman Catholics
to 12.9% of church members (up from 6.5% in 1970, but down from 13.4% in 2010). Protestants and An-
glicans are seeing smaller gains over the period, with the Protestant share showing a continued increase.
Roman Catholics are the largest tradition in every country except Algeria (Independents) and Egypt (Ortho-
dox).

Religion

Islam is the largest religion by far in every country in the region. Over the period 1970–2010 the Muslim
population rose in each country, and their percentage share of the total population rose or held steady in

every country except Algeria and Libya. Other than Religious affiliation
Western Sahara, which experienced massive emigra- in Northern Africa, 1970 & 2020
tion by non-Muslims, Egypt had the highest Muslim
gain in percentage share over the period, from 88.6%
in 1970 to 90.7% in 2010. The largest change between 1.4% 1.3% Other
2010 and 2020 will be in Sudan, where the Muslim
percentage is expected to increase from 90.7% to
8.1% 4.7% Christians
91.7%. In Algeria the Muslim percentage is expected
to decline further over the same period, from 98.5% to
98.3%.

Sudan has seen its ethnoreligionist numbers and
percentages fluctuate over the period, from 800,000
(7.3% of the population) in 1970 to 925,000 (2.8%) in
2010. The number of adherents is predicted to pass Muslims
1.1 million by 2020, although the percentage share will
remain 2.8% of the population in 2020.

No other religion claims more than 1% of the regional
population during the period 1970–2020, although
agnostics are expected to reach 0.7% in 2020 (up
from 0.6% in 2010). Algeria (1.3% of the population) 90.5% 94.0%
and Egypt (0.5%) were home to most of the region’s 1970 2020
agnostics in 2010; these percentages are forecast to
rise to 1.5% and 0.6% respectively by 2020. No other
religion claims more than 0.5% of the population in any Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
country in the region.

Not surprisingly, religious adherents in Northern Africa have significantly less interaction with Christians
than in any other region in Africa, since the Christian population there is also the smallest. Of all religionists
in the region, only 11% personally know a Christian.

Society
Religionists in Northern Africa
who know a Christian, 2010 Northern Africa has been the most successful
100
region in Africa at meeting the Millennium Develop-
ment Goals, although progress is uneven. Egypt, for
100

80
example, has one of the best records of any country
in the world. Tunisia and Morocco also rank fairly
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
highly, while Libya is among the countries making
the least progress.
60

40
The full effects of the 2010 Arab Spring uprisings
40

20
on the social welfare of the population remain to be
seen. Of special concern to Christians is how they
20

0
and other minority religionists will be treated under
the Islamist governments that have gained power in
0

Southern Africa is the smallest region in Africa in total population (57.8
million in 2010, less than half of next-ranked Middle Africa’s 126.7 mil-
lion), and in number of countries (five). Its demographics are domi-
nated by South Africa, home to between 85–90% of both the total and
Christian populations over the period 1970–2020.

Southern Africa began the twentieth century with the highest Christian
percentage of any African region. In 1910 the figure was at 37.0%,
mostly by virtue of South Africa’s 40.7% Christian population. By 1970
the regional figure had increased to 75.8%, and only Botswana (36.7%) lacked a Christian majority (in
Swaziland it had risen from 1.0% in 1910 to 67.3% in 1970, in Lesotho from 11.1% to 81.5%, and in Na-
mibia from 8.8% to an incredible 90.9%). In each country in the region the Christian percentage was higher
in 2010 than in 1970 (Botswana now has a Christian majority as well). The percentages are projected to
rise through 2020 in every country except South Africa (where the percentage Christian will decline slightly,
from 82.0% to 81.7% of the population).

The similar regional percentages for the period 1970–2020 mask significant differences among Christian
traditions, however. Protestants are dominant in Namibia (growing from 51.5% of the total population in
1970 to 58.8% in 2010) and Roman Catholics in Lesotho (from 39.8% to 48.8%). Independents are larg-
est in Botswana (up from 6.7% of the total population in 1970 to 42.4% in 2010), South Africa (from 20.5%
to 39.2%), and Swaziland (from 19.4% to 47.3%). These percentage shares are expected to rise in each
county except Namibia through 2020.

In 1970 Protestants represented 28.5% of the total regional population, shrinking to 21.2% in 2010 and
20.7% by 2020 despite an increase in number. Over the same period Independents have grown from
19.1% of the region’s population in 1970 to 37.3% in 2010 (37.6% in 2020). Over half of all church members
in Southern Africa are Independents (51.0% in 2010; 51.3% by 2020). Interestingly, Protestants and Inde-
pendents in Southern Africa represented about equal shares of their traditions’ continental totals in 1970
(27.3% and 26.0%, respectively). Despite the rapid growth of Protestants elsewhere in Africa, the percent-
age of Africa Protestants living in Southern Africa fell to 8.9% in 2010; it is projected to decline further by
2020, to 7.1%. The figure for Independents has fallen somewhat less rapidly: to 20.6% of all Independents
in Africa in 2010 and 18.0% by 2020.

Religion

In 1970, Southern Africa had four religions claiming adherents of at least 1% of the total population: Chris-
tians (75.8%), ethnoreligionists (20.2%), Hindus (1.7%), and Muslims (1.1%), the latter two mostly in South
Africa. By 2010 agnostics had risen to 4.8% of the population, up from 0.6% in 1970 (projected 5.4% by

2020), overtaking Hindus as the third-largest group Religious affiliation
of adherents in the region. Like Hindus and Muslims in Southern Africa, 1970 & 2020
(both in 1970 and currently), agnostics are found
0.6% 1.3%
mostly in South Africa, although the number of agnos- Other
tics also exceeded 1.0% of the total population in Na- 1.1% 1.6% Muslims
mibia and in Swaziland in 2010. Meanwhile, regional 1.7% 2.1% Hindus
percentages for Hindus (2.1% of the total population in
Agnostics
2010 and 2020) and Muslims (1.5% in 2010 and 1.6% 0.6% 5.4%
in 2020) continue to rise.
Ethnoreligionists
Conversely, ethnoreligionists have seen their share
20.2% 7.3%
of the regional population fall, from 20.2% in 1970 to
7.9% in 2010 and 7.3% by 2012. The drop has been
most dramatic in Botswana (from 62.8% of the total
population in 1970 to 29.8% in 2010 and 25.9% in
2020) and Swaziland (from 31.1% to 9.9% to 9.0%).
The only other group of religious adherents exceeding
1% of a country’s population in the period 1970–2020
is the Baha’i. Although they constituted 1.6% of Swa- Christians
ziland’s population in 1970, their share had fallen to
0.5% by 2010, with an actual decrease in numbers.
The population has since increased but is still ex-
pected be only 0.5% of the national total in 2020. The
Baha’i share of the population, however, is expected to 75.8% 82.3%
reach 0.9% in both Botswana and Lesotho by 2020, up 1970 2020
from 0.5% and 0.8% in 1970, respectively. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Southern Africa is one of Africa’s most religious diverse
regions, home to almost all of the 18 major world religions. Of these, nearly all atheists, agnostics, Baha’i,
Spiritists, and New religionists personally know a Christian, but these populations are comparatively small.
Significantly more ethnoreligionists (the second-largest religion) have personal contact with Christians
(78%) compared to Hindus (29%), the third-largest religion.

Religionists in Southern Africa Society
who know a Christian, 2010
While there has been progress in meeting some of
the Millennium Development Goals, the region still
100
100

faces difficulties. Among the largest is the continued
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the population. HIV rates
80
Percentage who know a Christian
80

among the adult population aged 15–49 are over
10% in every country in the region, with Swaziland
60
60

having the highest rate in the world (over 25%),
followed by Botswana and Lesotho. Although the
40
40

incidence of HIV infection appears to be declining,
the ongoing social and economic effects (such as
20
20

orphaned children and lost productivity) continue
to present major challenges to the countries in the
0
0

Christianity grew steadily in Western Africa for the first half of the twen-
tieth century. The region was 29.3% Christian in 1970, up from 1.7%
in 1910. Since 1970, however, growth has been more rapid. Christians
expanded to 36.5% of the regional population in 2010 and are expect-
ed to reach 37.1% by 2020. The average annual growth rate of 2.7%
for 2010–20 is predicted to exceed the total population growth rate for
2010–20 (2.6%).

Western Africa straddles the “dividing line” separating the Muslim-
majority north of the continent from the Christian-majority south. This divide is apparent in the Christian
percentages in the various countries. Six countries, mostly in the north of the region, are less than 10%
Christian as of 2010. In the south, Ghana was 64.0% Christian in 2010, and by 2020 Togo is expected to
exceed 50% as well, at 55.3% Christian. Benin (47.8%), Nigeria (46.9%), and Liberia (43.6%) will have
large Christian populations in 2020.

The island nations of Cape Verde and Saint Helena have seen their Christian percentages shrink steadily
since 1970, although they were still at 95.1% and 98.5% in 2010, respectively. These figures—as well as
those for Sierra Leone (13.3% in 2010) and Mauritania (0.3% in 2010)—are forecast to decline further by
2020. Eleven of the 17 countries in the region, however, are predicted to have a continuing increase in the
Christian share of the population between 1970 and 2020.

All Christian traditions are predicted to grow faster than the general population at the regional level for the
period 1970–2020. Roman Catholics were the largest Christian tradition in the region in 1970, representing
7.1% of the total population. By 2000, Independents (12.1%, up from 4.5% in 1970) had surpassed Roman
Catholics (11.0%). In 2010, Protestants (12.9%, up from 5.2% in 1970) had overtaken both Independents

and Roman Catholics (11.9% each). For the period Religious affiliation
2010–20, however, only Marginals, Protestants, and in Western Africa, 1970 & 2020
Roman Catholics are predicted to grow more rapidly
0.2% 0.4%
than the general population. Protestants (13.5%) and Other
Catholics (12.4%) are thus forecast to increase their
share of the total population, while Independents’
share will continue to shrink (to 11.6% in 2020).

27.5% 10.3% Ethnoreligionists
Religion

By 1970 both Muslims (43.0% of the population) and
Christians had passed ethnoreligionists’ share of the
Christians
population (27.5% in 1970). These trends have con-
tinued through 2010 (Muslims 51.0%, ethnoreligion-
ists 12.1%), with similar projections for 2020 (Muslims 29.3% 37.1%
52.2%, ethnoreligionists 10.3%). Muslims constitute
a majority of the population in eight countries in
2010 (and also 2020), and in 2020 they will form a
significant minority in Guinea-Bissau (47.2%), Nige-
ria (46.3%, similar to the Christian share), and Cote Muslims
d’Ivoire (40.6%). The Muslim share of the population
is expected either to rise or to hold steady in every
country in the region between 2010 and 2020. In 2010, 43.0% 52.2%
more ethnoreligionists (33%) than Muslims (21%) in 1970 2020
Western Africa personally knew a Christian.
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Although ethnoreligionists have declined dramatically
as a percentage of the total population in most countries of the region, they continue to constitute a size-
able segment in several countries, including Guinea-Bissau (42.0% in 2010, dropping to 37.6% in 2020),
Liberia (41.6%, to 38.3%), and Togo (33.9%, to 24.9%). On the other hand, the ethnoreligionist share of the
population actually has been rising in Cape Verde, from 0.1% in 1970 to 1.1% in 2010 and 2020.

No other religion claims more than 1% of the regional population, although adherents exceed the 1% level
in several individual countries. Agnostics constitute 3.3% of the population in Saint Helena, rising to 3.6%
by 2020. Baha’is will reach 0.9% in two countries by
2020, Gambia and Saint Helena.
Religionists in Western Africa
who know a Christian, 2010
Society
100
100

80
Progress in meeting the Millennium Development
Goals has been uneven across the region. Maternal
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
and child mortality are areas of special concern in
almost every country, as is HIV/AIDS. Also of con-
60

40
cern is the recent surge in violent activity by ethnic
and religious groups in several countries in the
40

Despite having its origins in Western Asia, Christianity has
spread more successfully to other parts of the globe. As a re-
sult, Asia today is the least-Christian major area in the world by
percentage. However, Christianity made significant gains in the
twentieth century, rising from 4.5% of the total population in 1970
to 8.2% in 2010, with a projected increase to 9.2% by 2020. Over
the ten-year period 2010–20, Christianity is expected to grow
faster than any other religion, averaging 2.1% growth per annum
(compared to 0.9% for the general population). Many of these
gains are by conversion, though some countries, such as Afghanistan, have experienced fluctuations with
the entrance and exit of large expatriate populations.

Christians have increased as a proportion of the population in every region in Asia except Western Asia. In
1970 Western Asia was 7.3% Christian, but this dropped to 6.1% in 2010 and will likely continue declining,
to 5.4% by 2020. Many historic Christian communities in Western Asia—notably those in Lebanon, Syria,
and Iraq—have been emigrating due to conflict and violence. Eastern Asia, in contrast, experienced the
greatest growth of any region in Asia. Christian percentages rose from 1.2% of the population in 1970 to
8.1% in 2010, with projected growth to 10.5% by 2020. Much of this growth has been in China—from 0.1%
of the population in 1970 to 7.3% (106 million Christians) in 2010.

Looking forward to 2020, Eastern Asia will continue to experience the fastest Christian growth (averaging
3.0% per annum 2010–20), more than twice as fast as the general population growth of 1.2%. In South-
central and South-eastern Asia the Christian population is poised to grow at a similar pace to the general
population. In Western Asia, Christianity will average 0.5% annual growth between 2010 and 2020, far less
than the general population’s 1.8%.

Roman Catholics were the largest major tradition in 2010 (3.3% of Asia’s population). Though growing,
Roman Catholics will be outpaced by Independents by 2020 (3.5% versus 3.7%). Much of the growth of
Independents is through the “house church” movement in China and other indigenous Christian initiatives
throughout the continent, such as hidden Hindu and Muslim believers in Christ. Independent Christians
average the fastest growth over the period 1970–2020 (4.8% per annum) as well as 2010–20 (2.6% p.a.).

Religion

Christianity has been the sixth-largest religious group in Asia since 1970, after Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
agnosticism, and Chinese folk-religion. Asia is the historic home to all of these except agnosticism, as
well as the Baha’i faith, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, and numerous
new religions and ethnoreligions. As a result, Asia is the world’s most religiously diverse continent, and it
will continue to be so well into the future. In 2010 Asia was home to 99.2% of the world’s Hindus, 98.4% of

Buddhists, 75.5% of agnostics, and 69.4% of Mus- Religious affiliation
lims (as well as 15.2% of the world’s Christians). Both in Asia, 1970 & 2020
Buddhists and agnostics will see their shares of Asia’s
1.3% 1.3%
population shrink between 2010 and 2020, however. Other
1.8% 1.3%
Agnostics, as well as atheists, are projected to have New religionists
negative rates of change over the period, indicating a 5.1% 2.5% Atheists
resurgence of interest in religion. 4.3% 3.4% Ethnoreligionists

An increase in migration has significantly altered the 4.5% 9.2% Christians
religious landscape of numerous countries in Asia. Ad- Chinese
herents of many minority religions (such as Confucian- 10.7% 9.5% folk-religionists
ists in Myanmar and Thailand and Muslims in Japan)
have experienced enormous growth, from virtually zero Agnostics
presence in 1970 to numbering in the hundreds of 20.5% 10.6%
thousands in 2010 (largely due to migration). Looking
Buddhists
forward to 2020, it is likely that high rates of migration 11.0% 11.6%
will continue both within Asia and from Asia to the rest
of the world, with significant implications for religious
adherence and practice. Hindus
21.6% 23.3%
Because Christians are a minority in most countries in
Asia, relatively few adherents of other religions there
personally know a Christian. Only 13% of religionists in
Asia personally know a Christian. This includes 14% of 19.2% 27.3% Muslims
Buddhists, 13% of Hindus, and 10% of Muslims. These 1970 2020
percentages are the lowest in the world of any conti- Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
nent, and Asia’s regions report the lowest percentages
globally (such as Western Asia at 10% of religionists
who personally know a Christian).

Society

Asia suffers greatly from a number of social issues, in particular moderate to high poverty and high pro-
portions of slum-dwellers in urban areas. Urbanization was quite rapid in many Asian countries through
the twentieth century, often resulting in wide gaps
between social classes, putting strain on societ-
Religionists in Asia ies both economically and socially. Women’s rights
who know a Christian, 2010 are also a major issue in Asia, as many traditional
100 religious societies prevent women from gaining
100

education (both primary and higher) and entering
80 the workforce. South-central and Western Asia have
Percentage who know a Christian
80

low representation of women in national parliaments,
60 and women’s share of paid employment is low in
60

each of these regions as well. Both of these are as-
40 pects of Millennium Development Goal #3, promot-
40

The demographics of Eastern Asia are dominated by China,
home to over 80% of the region’s total population 1970–2020
(and over 80% of its Christian population 2010–20).

In 1970 Eastern Asia’s 11.4 million Christians constituted 1.2% of
the region’s population, making Christianity the eighth-largest re-
ligion. By 2010 the number of Christians had increased to 127.8
million (8.1% of the population), ranking Christianity fourth. Over
the period 2010–20, Christians are expected to have the highest
growth rate (3.0% per year) and to increase to 171.1 million (10.5% of the region’s population).

Among Christian traditions, Independents experienced the most rapid growth regionally, averaging 7.7%
per year between 1970 and 2010. Over that period they grew from 0.3% of the region’s population to 5.6%
and now outnumber Christians from all other traditions combined. Growth is expected to continue through
2020, averaging 3.0% annually, to almost 119 million (7.3% of the region’s population). Protestants and
Catholics also experienced significant growth 1970–2010, from 0.4% to 2.3% and from 0.2% to 1.4% of the
region’s population, respectively. Their numbers will continue to increase through 2020 but will remain well
below those of Independents regionally.

Japan is one of the few countries in the world in which Marginal Christians are the largest Christian tradi-
tion. South Korea, however, has the largest population of Marginal Christians in the region, as well as the
most Anglicans. Perhaps surprisingly, Japan is home to the largest population of, as well as a majority of,
Orthodox in the region. Interestingly, in every country except Hong Kong and Macau, the largest Christian
tradition was different in 2000 than in 1970. By 2010 Hong Kong had seen this change as well.

The number of Christians increased in every country except Japan over the period 1970–2010; this pattern
is expected to continue through 2020. The Christian share of the population, however, shows a sustained
increase only in China (from 0.1% in 1970 to 7.9% in 2010 and 10.6% in 2020), South Korea (from 18.3% to
33.4% to 36.1%), and Mongolia (0.3% to 1.7% to 2.0%). Japan (3.0% to 2.1% to 2.1%) and Macau (13.2%
to 7.2% to 6.2%) show significant declines in the Christian shares of their populations.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Eastern Asia, 1970 & 2020
Eastern Asia has experienced much religious change 1.2% 1.3% Other
since 1970. Due to the demographic weight of China, 1.2% 1.4% Muslims
regionally a majority of the population was either
2.8% 2.8% New religionists
agnostic (42.4%) or atheist (10.1%) in 1970. Over the
period 1970–2010 both groups grew by only 0.1% an- 5.7% 4.3% Ethnoreligionists
nually, however, so that by 2010 they constituted only Atheists
10.1% 6.4%
29.7% and 6.7%, respectively, of the regional popula-
tion. Buddhists, meanwhile, increased from 13.0% to 1.2% 10.5%
Christians
19.0%, and Chinese folk-religionists increased their
share from 22.4% to 26.8%. The Buddhist and Chris-
Buddhists
tian populations are expected to continue to increase
13.0% 20.3%
through 2020, while agnostic, atheist, and Chinese
folk-religionist populations are expected to decline
slightly. Chinese
folk-religionists
22.4% 25.9%
Dramatic change has taken place in Mongolia, where
Buddhists grew from 27,000 to 1.5 million (and from
2.1% to 54.2% of the total population) between 1970
and 2010. Over the same period, ethnoreligionists
saw their share drop from 36.2% to 18.6%. Agnostics
Agnostics
and atheists lost both actual adherents and popula-
tion share (from 38.5% to 17.2% and 20.9% to 2.8%, 42.4% 27.2%
respectively). These trends will likely continue through 1970 2020
2020. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

In South Korea, ethnoreligions lost both adherents
and population share (from 38.5% of the population in 1970 to 14.7% in 2010). Meanwhile, Christians (from
18.3% in 1970 to 33.4%, the largest religious group in 2010) and Buddhists (16.9% to 24.8%) saw sizeable
growth. All of the largest religions in South Korea except Christianity are expected to decline in percentage
share of the population through 2020, however.

Over all, 14% of religionists in Eastern Asia personally know a Christian. Just over 20% of Confucianists
and Baha’is personally know a Christian, the highest
percentages of the region’s religious communities.
Religionists in Eastern Asia
who know a Christian, 2010
Society
100
100

Increasing economic development has resulted in
women having fewer children. As a result, fewer
80
Percentage who know a Christian
80

young people will be available to support the el-
derly, who are living longer than ever before. Most
60
60

South-central Asia is home to over a quarter of the world’s
population but only 4% of the world’s Christians. Between 1970
and 2010 Christianity grew at a steady rate (2.3% per annum),
and moderately faster than the population of the region as a
whole (2.1% p.a.). This has resulted in an increase of the overall
Christian percentage from 3.5% in 1970 to 4% in 2010. Christian
growth rates are anticipated to accelerate slightly for 2010–20,
resulting in an overall regional Christian representation of 4.1%.

The overall numeric increase in Christianity across the region is driven primarily by changes in India, where
nearly 85% of all Christians in the region live. This masks more erratic patterns of Christian change in indi-
vidual countries. Sri Lanka, for example, experienced a dramatic drop in its Christian percentage between
1910 and 2010 but has been steadily increasing since 1970. Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the
Maldives, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan experienced significant Christian growth over
the past 100 years, but all are projected to see a decline in their Christian percentages between 2010 and
2020.

In 1910 Roman Catholics accounted for over 50% of all church members in South-central Asia, but the
growth of Protestantism in the first half of the twentieth century has contributed to the diversification of the
region’s Christian population. Between 1970 and 2010, Independents also made significant gains, increas-
ing from 14% of church members to almost 27%. This rapid growth of Independent Christians is wide-
spread, affecting every country of South-central Asia except Kyrgyzstan. In India, Independent growth has
resulted largely from increases in hidden Hindu believers in Christ.

Religion

South-central Asia is the historical home to many of the world’s major religions, including Hinduism, Sikh-
ism, the Baha’i faith, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Though Hindus account for over 50% of the regional

population, 10 of the 14 countries in the region are Religious affiliation
majority-Muslim. Nearly 40% of the world’s Muslims in South-central Asia, 1970 & 2020
live in South-central Asia, and their share of the popu-
1.5% 0.5% Other
lation has been increasing in every country within the
1.4% 0.9%
region. Between 1970 and 2010 the Muslim share of Agnostics
the population increased by at least 30 percentage 1.3% 1.3% Sikhs
points in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 1.8% 1.6% Buddhists
Uzbekistan, reflecting the resurgence of religious affili-
2.7% 2.8% Ethnoreligionists
ation following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
3.5% 4.1% Christians
Though Hinduism continues to grow rapidly in much
of the Western world, 98% of Hindus still live in South-
central Asia. Of these, 95% live in India alone, but Muslims
their percentage of the overall population is in steady
decline, dropping from 78% in 1970 to 71% by 2020. 29.1% 36.5%
Hindu nationalism has increased since the 1980s, sig-
nified by the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party
in India.

Christianity constitutes only a small portion of the
religious context in South-central Asia. As a result, only Hindus
about 12% of adherents of other religions in the region
personally know a Christian. This number drops to
under 10% for Muslims, many of whom live in countries 58.7% 52.3%
with significantly smaller Christian percentages com- 1970 2020
pared to the regional total. Fewer Baha’is in South-cen- Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
tral Asia have personal interaction with Christians than
in any other region in Asia (14%); likewise for Hindus
(13%) and Jews (9%).

Society

Despite the high level of religious diversity in South-central Asia, the region is the most restrictive in the
world in terms of religious freedom. Religious freedom worldwide is generally restricted either by govern-
mental or societal forces, and most countries in
South-central Asia exhibit both types at fairly high
Religionists in South-central Asia levels. In India, a resurgence of Hindu national-
who know a Christian, 2010 ism has resulted in increased social pressure on
100 Muslims, in addition to new laws encouraging Dalit
100

Christians and Muslims to identify as Hindus on the
80 census. Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and the Mal-
Percentage who know a Christian
80

South-eastern Asia was home to 52.8% of Asia’s Christians in
1970, although the population was only 17.7% Christian. The
growth of Christianity elsewhere in Asia, however, means that
in 2010 only 38.2% of Asia’s Christians lived in South-eastern
Asia. This is predicted to decline to 36.5% by 2020. Meanwhile,
the Christian share of the region’s population has been rising. In
2010 Christians constituted 22.1%, with growth to 23.4% expect-
ed by 2020.

In 1970 the majority (66.0%) of South-eastern Asia’s Christians lived in the Philippines, which was 93.8%
Christian (the only majority-Christian country in Asia at the time). As of 2010 the Philippines was 90.8%
Christian and home to 64.7% of the region’s Christians, with similar figures anticipated for 2020. The large
Roman Catholic population there means that most of the region’s Christians are Catholic. The percentage
of the region’s Christians living in Indonesia—home to the second-largest Christian population in the region
(around 22% for the period 1970–2020)—has declined slightly. The percentage of the Indonesian popula-
tion that is Christian has increased from 9.5% in 1970 to 12.1% in 2010, rising to 12.5% by 2020.

The numbers of adherents of each major Christian tradition have increased over the period 1970–2010, as
have the proportions of the regional population for most of them. In contrast to the situation in many other
regions, however, the relative proportions among the six major Christian traditions have remained remark-
ably stable since 1970. Interestingly, almost two thirds of Anglicans in Asia (63.0% in 2010, up from 49.6%
in 1970) are found in South-eastern Asia, even though they constituted only 0.1% of the region’s total popu-
lation and about 0.4% of its church members over the period.

Religion

South-eastern Asia is one of the world’s most religiously diverse regions. Nine religions claimed adherence
by at least 1% of the population in 2010 (up from eight in 1970). Muslims are the largest single group of
religious adherents: 35.2% of the population in 1970 and 36.8% in 2010 (36.5% by 2020). They constitute a
majority in three countries (Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia) and a sizeable minority in Singapore (15% of
the population in 2010, down from 18% in 1970).

Buddhists are the second-largest group regionally. Religious affiliation
Their share declined from 32.1% in 1970 to 26.8% in in South-eastern Asia, 1970 & 2020
2010 (26.0% by 2020), however, as both the Muslim
0.7% 1.3% Other
and Christian populations grew faster. Buddhists form
the largest group of religious adherents in five of the 1.3% 1.2% Hindus
region’s 11 countries. Their share of the total has held Chinese
2.4% 2.0%
relatively stable in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and folk-religionists
Thailand, but in Viet Nam it has dropped from 63.3% in 3.7% 2.3% New religionists
1970 to 49.2% for 2010–20.
2.0% 2.8% Agnostics

Ethnoreligionists, less than 5% of the regional popula- 4.9% 4.5% Ethnoreligionists
tion between 1970 and 2020, constitute a substantial
minority in Laos: 42.8% in 2010 (rivaling Buddhists’ Christians
17.7% 23.4%
52.2%), up from 38.0% in 1970. They also form 10.4%
of the population in Viet Nam (up from 4.4% in 1970),
10.1% in Timor-Leste (down substantially from the
63.5% majority of 1970), 10.1% in Brunei (down from Buddhists
15.1%), and 9.5% in Myanmar (down from 11.5%).
32.1% 26.0%
Chinese folk-religionists make up only about 2% of
the region’s population over the period, but they are
the largest group in Singapore (39.1% in 2010, down
from 54.2% in 1970). Malaysia also has a significant Muslims
minority of Chinese folk-religionists (18.4%, down from
24.6%). Other sizeable groups include both agnostics 35.2% 36.5%
(12.7% in 2010) and New religionists (11.1%) in Viet 1970 2020
Nam. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

In addition to South-eastern Asia’s religious diversity,
the region also reports some of the highest percentages for religious adherents who personally know a
Christian. Overall for the region the figure is 15%, even higher than for Asia as a whole. Of the region’s
religious communities, a perhaps surprising 44% of Baha’is personally know a Christian (this is significantly
more than in Western Asia, the historic home of the Baha’i).

Society

South-eastern Asia is one of the world’s largest
Religionists in South-eastern Asia exporters of sex slaves to brothels around the world,
who know a Christian, 2010 particularly in Eastern Asia, Europe, and the United
100 States. Human trafficking is incredibly difficult to
100

monitor and the full scale of the problem is difficult
80 to comprehend. After drug dealing, human traffick-
Percentage who know a Christian
80

ing is tied with arms dealing as the second-largest
60 criminal industry in the world. Women and girls in
60

South-eastern Asia are particularly vulnerable due to
40 high rates of poverty, leading to desperation. Many
40

cities in the region, such as Bangkok, Thailand, and
20 Phnom Penh, Cambodia, are top destinations for
20

Christianity declined from 7.3% of Western Asia’s total population
in 1970 to 6.1% in 2010, with a further decline to 5.4% projected
by 2020. This net change has been due largely to the emigra-
tion of Christians as a result of religious violence in the region.
Lebanon, Turkey and, more recently, Iraq and Syria have been at
the center of some of these tensions, with the former two hav-
ing fewer Christians now than in 1970 despite overall popula-
tion growth. However, nine of the region’s 18 countries saw an
increase in Christian percentage between 1970 and 2010, and it
is anticipated that eight will see an increase between 2010 and 2020 (with another two holding steady).

Much of this growth has come as a result of immigration, partially by those displaced from other countries
in the region, but primarily through the influx of migrant workers to the service industries of the region’s
wealthy nations. Many of these workers are Christians, coming from countries such as the Philippines and
working in Western Asia for two or three years at a time. Another source of growth was a result of the end
of Communism in the former Soviet Union. Armenia and Georgia, both of which historically were majority
Christian nations, saw large increases in the numbers of people identifying as Christian between 1970 and
2000.

Some of the world’s oldest Christian communities are preserved in Western Asia, though in many countries
the repeated displacement of Christians over time has left only small pockets of these ancient Orthodox
Christians. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christianity is still the largest major tradition in the region, with almost
nine million adherents; two thirds of Orthodox Christians in Western Asia reside in Armenia or Georgia.
Roman Catholics retain a strong presence in Lebanon despite emigration, while in Saudi Arabia and the

United Arab Emirates their numbers have increased Religious affiliation
substantially since 1970 due to the influx of Roman in Western Asia, 1970 & 2020
Catholic migrant workers. Largely as a result of this
Other
phenomenon, the percentage of the region’s church 2.6% 1.4%
members who are Roman Catholic increased from
4.5% 1.3% Agnostics
27% in 1970 to 38% in 2010.
2.9% 2.5% Jews
Religion
Christians
7.3% 5.4%
All three Abrahamic faiths trace their origins to West-
ern Asia, and demographically they continue to domi-
nate the region. Islam, with by far the most adherents,
has grown at a rapid rate despite its large size, in-
creasing from 82.7% of the population in 1970 to an
estimated 89.5% by 2020. This is because the Muslim
populations in 12 of the region’s 18 countries have
grown more rapidly than the region’s population as a Muslims
whole, accounting for two thirds of the increase.Turkey
has the largest Muslim and total populations in the re-
gion and accounts for another quarter of the increase,
despite lagging Muslim population growth rates there.

Today Western Asia is home to the world’s largest Jew- 82.7% 89.5%
ish population (in Israel). In 1970 almost 97% of the 1970 2020
region’s Jews lived in Israel. Today that figure is about
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
91%, with another 8% living in Palestine due to the Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The presence of these settlements, an ongoing source of both religious and social tension in the heavily
Muslim region, is just one element of a larger conflict over the right of the State of Israel to exist. Fifteen
percent of Jews in Western Asia personally knew a Christian in 2010.

Hindus now constitute significant shares of the population in several countries due to immigration of work-
ers from India, including 6.6% in the United Arab Emirates, 6.5% in Bahrain, and 5.3% in Oman. Immigra-
tion has raised the number Buddhists as well, although to a lesser degree (for example, 2.2% of the popu-
lation in Qatar and 2.0% in the UAE). Communism’s
collapse has meant fewer atheists and agnostics in
Religionists in Western Asia the former Soviet republics, but secularization has
who know a Christian, 2010 increased their numbers in Cyprus and the countries
100 of the Levant.
100

80
Society
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
Factionalism—political, economic, ethnic, tribal,
60

40
inter- and intra-religious—characterizes life in many
of the countries of the region. One manifestation of
40

20
this has been violence in the form of war (intra- and
international), terrorism, persecution, and armed up-
20

0
risings. Millions of people have fled their homes, and
even the region, to escape harm, at times threaten-
0

ing to destabilize the countries in which they seek
refuge. This factionalism also works against solving
social problems such as poverty, unemployment,
and lack of access to education and health care that
*Few or none Center for the Study of Global Christianity, plague many people in the population.
present in region Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

The 100-year period from 1910 to 2010 was marked by signifi-
cant changes in European Christianity, and the 50-year period
from 1970 to 2020 will likely prove to be similar. In 1970, Chris-
tians constituted 75.0% of Europe’s population, a significant
drop from their 94.5% share in 1910. By 2010 Christians claimed
78.6% of the population (a rise attributed to the collapse of Com-
munism in Eastern Europe), but this percentage is projected to
decline to 78.0% by 2020.

Although Roman Catholicism remains the largest major Christian tradition in Europe, its share of the popu-
lation has been declining since 1970, and this decline is expected to continue into the future. In 2012, the
Roman Catholic Church inaugurated the Year of Faith and the New Evangelization, renewal initiatives geared
toward both nominal Catholics and those who have officially disaffiliated from the Church, in order to reinvigo-
rate their faith and interest in Roman Catholicism. Given current growth rates, however, Roman Catholics—
who represented 39.0% of Europe’s population in 1970—will likely represent only 37.2% in 2020.

Anglicans’ and Protestants’ population shares are also on the decline. Protestants experienced the greatest
overall percentage decline over both the 50- and 10-year periods, dropping from 12.5% in 1970, to 9.2%
in 2010, to a likely 8.9% by 2020. The reasons for decline across these traditions are multifaceted; they
include the pervasiveness of secularism, the continuing effects of deinstitutionalization of the Church in
numerous European countries, and the rising trend of individual disaffiliation with Christianity.

Independent and Orthodox churches, however, are on the rise. The trend of Orthodox renewal is continu-
ing, particularly in Eastern Europe, after the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Independent churches are growing due to migration from the global South; in particular, congregations of
African Pentecostals and Charismatics have appeared in Southern Europe.

There is a consistent pattern of change within European Christianity. In continental Europe and in each
of its regions except Eastern Europe, Christianity is declining largely through defectors leaving the faith
(mainly to agnosticism and atheism) and deaths (in many European countries the population is aging
rapidly), while its gains come through births (those born into Christian families) and immigration. The future
of Christianity in Europe will likely be impacted by Christian immigrants, largely from the global South.
Included in this trend is the concept of “reverse mission,” where younger churches in the global South are
sending missionaries to Europe.

Religion

Europe has become more religiously diverse over the past several decades, and it is likely this trend will
continue to 2020 and beyond. Between 1970 and 2020, the fastest-growing religions in Europe are Con-

fucianism (5.8% per annum), Zoroastrianism (5.5% Religious affiliation
per annum), Chinese folk-religion (4.2% per annum), in Europe, 1970 & 2020
Hinduism (3.4% per annum), Jainism (3.4% per an-
1.0% 0.9%
num), and Spiritism (2.9% per annum). However, Other
these high growth rates are due to increases in rather
Atheists
small populations and are thus unsustainable. Baha’is 8.2% 2.1%
(averaging 1.5% per annum) and Sikhs (averaging
1.3% per annum) are predicted to grow most rapidly 2.7% 5.9% Muslims
over the period 2010–20. Muslims are projected to in-
crease from 5.6% of the population in 2010 to 5.9% in
2020, growth that can be attributed to immigration and 13.1% 13.1% Agnostics
higher-than-European-average birth rates. Between
1970 and 2020, Jews are declining at a rate of 2.1%
per annum, a rate exceeded only by that of atheists. It
is projected that the Jewish population in Europe will
represent only 0.2% of the population by 2020. This is
due largely to aging Jewish populations and continu-
ing emigration to Israel. Christians

Although secularism was pervasive in Europe over the
past century, agnostics’ and atheists’ shares of the
European population declined from 21.3% (combined)
in 1970 to 14.7% in 2010, although this is expected to 75.0% 78.0%
rise to 15.2% by 2020. The decrease in agnostics and 1970 2020
atheists from 1970 was due largely to religious resur-
gence in Eastern Europe. As a result, large numbers of Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
agnostics and atheists in Europe have interaction with Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Christians (over 90% of each in every region, except
agnostics in Eastern Europe, personally knew a Christian in 2010).

In 2010, on average, 23% of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in Europe personally knew a Christian. It is
projected that these communities will continue to grow at a much faster pace than Christians between 2010
and 2020, which likely will create more opportunities for interactions between these faith communities.

Religionists in Europe
who know a Christian, 2010 Society

Although outside the scope of the UN Millennium
100
100

Development Goals, Europe faces its own unique
set of social issues. One in particular is community
80
Percentage who know a Christian
80

cohesion, particularly relevant to the increasing
religious diversity in many of the major cities across
60
60

the continent. Many historically Christian countries
have struggled with how to properly respond to and
40
40

support adherents of other world religions and how
to provide them with opportunities for cultural, eco-
20
20

Christianity in Eastern Europe has undergone profound changes
since 1970. Under Communist rule, religion was driven under-
ground in a campaign to eliminate it entirely from society. The Or-
thodox Church in Russia suffered severely, with at least 200,000
priests, monks, and nuns executed. As a result, at the height
of Communism in 1970, the region was only 57.2% Christian,
the lowest percentage of any region in the global North for that
time period. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, droves of
agnostics and atheists came into to the churches. By 2010, the region claimed 84.0% Christian adherence,
similar to the situation in 1910 (89.6% Christian). Looking toward 2020, Christian gains are likely to be more
modest, with a 0.02% average annual growth rate between 2010 and 2020.

Orthodoxy is the largest major tradition in Eastern Europe, and its trajectory of change over the 40-year pe-
riod is indicative of its persecution and subsequent revival. Evidence of this revival includes the passage of
laws favoring the established Orthodox churches (in Russia, for example) and the significant political influ-
ence the Orthodox churches exert (such as in Bulgaria). Thus, while Orthodox were only 33.6% of Eastern
Europe’s population in 1970, by 2010 this had nearly doubled to 60.7%.

Despite the resurgence of the Orthodox in Eastern Europe, Marginal Christians have the fastest growth rate
of any major Christian tradition between 1970 and 2020, averaging 4.3% annually. Significant gains have
been made via missionary efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, especially in Russia
and Ukraine. The temple in Kiev, Ukraine, that opened in 2010 is the first Latter-day Saints temple in the
former Soviet Union. For the period 2010–20, Marginal Christians are poised to grow more quickly than any
other major Christian tradition, at 1.2% per annum.

Religion

The twentieth-century decline of Christianity in Eastern Europe resulted in a sharp rise in the non-religious
population. In 1970, 37.2% of the region was atheist or agnostic. However, with the end of Communist rule
and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the non-religious percentages plummeted as Christianity gained mo-
mentum again. In 2010 Eastern Europe was 9.6% non-religious, and this percentage is expected to decline
even more, to 7.8% by 2020. The non-religious will likely experience the most drastic decline of any tradi-
tion by 2020 (agnostics averaging -4.7% per annum and atheists -5.1% per annum).

With the independence and opening of many Eastern Religious affiliation
Bloc countries, there has been great opportunity for in Eastern Europe, 1970 & 2020
immigrants from the global South, mainly profession-
1.5% 0.7% Other
als, to settle. This has caused increases in the popu-
lations of smaller world religions. Between 1970 and
2020, several religions will have annual growth rates of
16.3% 1.1% Atheists
well over 10%: Hindus, Chinese folk-religionists, Sikhs,
and Spiritists. Despite such growth, these religions 4.2% 5.7% Muslims
will still be quite small in 2020 (49,000 Hindus; 11,600
Chinese folk-religionists; 10,400 Sikhs; and 7,300
Spiritists). Agnostics
20.9% 6.7%

Changes to Eastern Europe’s Jewish population have
significantly affected the region’s religious make-up. In
1970, 3.0 million Jews lived in Eastern Europe (1.1%),
mostly Russian Jews. However, in just 40 years the
population was nearly depleted, representing only
0.2% of the region’s population in 2010. The major rea- Christians
son for decline is mass emigration to Israel, with over
1.2 million Jews leaving countries of the former Soviet
Union for Israel since its founding in 1948. The height
of immigration was in 1990 and 1991 with the dissolu-
tion of the Soviet Union; over 300,000 Jews left the
former Soviet Union for Israel in these two years alone. 57.2% 85.8%
1970 2020
Given the history of Judaism in Eastern Europe, it is Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
perhaps surprising that in 2010, only 15% of Jews
personally knew a Christian. This percentage is lower
than for many other, newer religious communities in the region, such as Buddhists (20%), Sikhs (25%), and
Muslims (17%).

Religionists in Eastern Europe Society
who know a Christian, 2010
100 In 2010 the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNI-
CEF) released a report stating that the HIV epidemic
100

80 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia was escalat-
Percentage who know a Christian

ing at an alarming pace, largely due to a rise in
80

60 drug use and high-risk sexual behavior, particularly
among adolescents. Russia has one of the world’s
60

40 highest levels of injectable drug use, resulting in
a drastic spread of HIV. In 2002 there were only
40

20 100,000 HIV-positive individuals in Russia, but by
2012 there were over one million. Existing health
20

0 and social services in Eastern Europe are gener-
ally unequipped to help young people at risk in this
0

Christianity in Northern Europe has been on a steady trajectory
of decline, dropping from 98.1% of the population in 1910 to
86.7% in 1970. The trend continued to 2010, when Christianity
stood at 74.8% of Northern Europe’s population, and is ex-
pected to continue, though at a slower rate, looking toward 2020
(72.9%). While Christianity is expected to maintain a 0.3% aver-
age annual growth rate between 2010 and 2020, this is smaller
than for any other religion except Judaism and is also lower than
the rate of growth for the region’s population as a whole (0.5%).

Only two countries in Northern Europe are poised to become more Christian (by percentage) in 2020 than
they were in 1970: Lithuania (70.5% in 1970; 90.6% in 2020) and Latvia (51.0% in 1970; 71.7% in 2020).
Christianity is growing in these countries largely due to the revival of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy,
respectively, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Independent churches are experiencing significant growth regionally, with average annual rates of 2.5%
between 1970 and 2020 and 1.6% between 2010 and 2020. One of the most significant trends in North-
ern Europe has been, and will continue to be, immigration. Many of these immigrants are Christians, often
bringing a more dynamic form of the faith into a region with low church attendance. Some of the largest
churches in the region are African churches.

Northern Europe is the historic home of Anglicanism, which until 1970 remained the largest Christian tradi-
tion in the region. By 1970 Anglicanism had been replaced by Protestantism as the largest Christian tradi-
tion, with Protestants representing 35.0% of all Christians and Anglicans 33.5%. This trend had reversed
again by 2010, with Anglicans holding 26.5% and Protestants 25.9%, and it is likely that Anglicans will
continue to hold this slight margin in 2020.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Northern Europe, 1970 & 2020
The most significant change in Northern Europe’s 1.1% 2.2% Other
religious landscape has been the rise of the non-
religious—in particular, agnostics. Agnosticism in 2.6% 2.5% Atheists
the region grew from 8.7% in 1970 to 17.7% in 2010,
with a projected figure of 19.2% for 2020. The largest 0.8% 3.2% Muslims
increases are projected to be in Estonia (from 30.0% in
1970 to 50.6% in 2020), Finland (2.5% to 17.7%), the
United Kingdom (7.9% to 21.3%), and Denmark (2.0% Agnostics
to 12.4%). Lithuania and Latvia are the only two coun- 8.7% 19.2%
tries to have declined in agnosticism over the 50- and
10-year periods (falling from 19.3% in 1970 to 8.3% in
2020 in Lithuania, and from 31.1% to 23.0% in Latvia).

Muslims in Northern Europe grew from 0.8% of the
population in 1970 to 2.9% in 2010 and are projected
to increase to 3.2% in 2020, largely due to continued
immigration and higher-than-average birth rates. The Christians
largest Muslim growth is occurring in Denmark (from
0.2% of the population in 1970 to 5.4% in 2020), Swe-
den (<0.1% to 4.4%), Norway (0.1% to 3.4%), and the
United Kingdom (1.1% to 3.5%). In Northern Europe,
16% of Muslims personally knew a Christian in 2010, 86.7% 72.9%
the lowest percentage for any of Europe’s regions. 1970 2020
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Small religions in Northern Europe are making signifi-
cant gains between 1970 and 2020, largely due to im-
migration. Confucianists, Zoroastrians, and ethnoreligionsists each will average annual growth of more than
12% regionally over the 50-year period, but all are likely to average less than 1% per annum between 2010
and 2020. These populations are still relatively small: fewer than 37,000 ethnoreligionists and than 7,000
each for Confucianists and Zoroastrians.

Hindus are expected to have significant growth over the 50-year period, with 783,000 adherents by 2020
(though still only 0.8% of the population). Sikhs are
expected to more than double their population,
Religionists in Northern Europe reaching 480,000 by 2020. Both Sikhs and Hindus
who know a Christian, 2010 already outnumber Jews in the region, and Bud-
100 dhists are likely to as well not long after 2020.
100

80
Society
Percentage who know a Christian
80

Over all, birth rates in Northern Europe have been
60
60

decreasing since 1970. However, a significant issue
is teen pregnancy, especially in the United King-
40
40

dom. The British Office for National Statistics report-
ed in 2012 that the country has one of the highest
20
20

rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world:
34,633 in 2010 out of a total population of 62 million.
0
0

Christianity in Southern Europe has been on a trajectory of
decline since 1970. From representing 87.7% of the population
then, it dropped to 82.4% in 2010 and is poised to fall to 81.7%
by 2020. As in other regions in Europe, Christianity is not keep-
ing pace with general population growth, both regionally and in
most countries. The twentieth century was a tumultuous time for
religion in Albania in particular. In 1970 the country was officially
atheistic and had a Christian population of less than 200,000
(8.1% of the population). By 2010, however, Christianity had made significant gains (to 31.6% of the popu-
lation), and this is expected to continue (to 32.4% in 2020).

On a regional basis Roman Catholicism is the dominant form of Christianity, although church affiliation is in
decline. The church’s influence on state affairs is waning throughout the region, due to falling numbers of
clergy and a persistent decline of interest and in affiliation with church institutions. Roman Catholics repre-
sented 78.1% of the regional population in 1970 but are likely to drop to 73.8% by 2020.

Independent churches in Southern Europe are on the rise, largely due to immigration from Africa, and
represent the fastest growth of any Christian tradition over the 50-year period (averaging 4.6% per annum).
The growth of African Pentecostal churches in the region has been tremendous, with at least 1,000 congre-
gations in Italy alone. Majority-Roman Catholic countries historically have struggled with the integration of
these different kinds of Christians.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Southern Europe, 1970 & 2020
Declines among Christians between 1970 and 2020 0.1% 0.3% Other
are countered by modest gains by agnostics and
Muslims: agnostics are on track to increase from 7.0% 2.4% 2.2% Atheists
of the population in 1970 to 9.0% in 2020, and Muslims
from 2.9% to 6.8%. While Muslims in the region were Muslims
2.9% 6.8%
historically found mainly in Albania, Bosnia-Herze-
govina, and Kosovo, nearly every Southern European
Agnostics
country now has a Muslim community due to immi- 7.0% 9.0%
gration. Muslims are likely to represent 32.8% of the
population in Macedonia (680,000) in 2020 (up from
178,000—or 11.3%—in 1970), 17.3% in Montenegro
(110,000), 4.3% in Greece (495,000), 2.9% in Spain
(1.4 million), and 2.6% in Italy (1.6 million).

Agnostics and atheists have seen both their numbers Christians
and their percentages of the population increase in
the “Western” countries of the region (such as Greece,
Italy, Portugal, and Spain) over the period 1970–2020
while declining in Albania and most countries of the
former Yugoslavia (Slovenia being the exception).
Despite gains, adherents of smaller religions such as 87.7% 81.7%
Hindus, Chinese folk-religionists, Jews, and Sikhs still 1970 2020
account for a combined share of the regional popula-
tion of less than 1%. Sikhs will have the largest growth Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
rate between 2010 and 2020, averaging 2.3% per an-
num, largely due to immigration.

In Southern Europe in 2010, on average, 22% of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists personally knew a Chris-
tian. This is the lowest percentage of personal contact for these religions in all of Europe.

Society
Religionists in Southern Europe
who know a Christian, 2010 Southern Europe is currently experiencing one of
100
the worst economic climates in the Western world.
Greece in particular has faced major financial
100

80
troubles, so severely in debt due to out-of-control
spending that it was bailed out twice by the Euro-
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
pean Union in 2010. Austerity measures were put in
place with drastic spending cuts, tax increases, and
60

40
labor market and pension reforms, with devastat-
ing effects. The Greek public has struggled to find,
40

20
maintain, and actually get paid for work, with an un-
employment rate of more than 25%. Unemployment
20

0 has exceeded 25% in Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Macedonia, and Kosovo (the latter above 40%) as
0

Christianity in Western Europe has experienced the most drastic
decline of any region of Europe, from 98.7% of the population in
1910 to 88.7% in 1970, 69.1% in 2010, and a projected 65.9%
in 2020, the lowest percentage of any region in the global North.
Adherence is expected to decrease over both the 50- and 10-
year periods in most countries. Despite such decline, however,
Christianity remains the largest religion in Western Europe.

Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian tradition in the re-
gion. In 1970, 58.2% of the region’s population was Catholic.
By 2010, however, that figure had dipped below half, to 48.8%, for the first time in the region’s Christian
history. This trajectory is expected to continue through 2020, with Roman Catholics declining to 47.3% of
Western Europe’s population, although they will continue to be the large majority of the region’s Christians.
These figures reflect a significant trend of disaffiliation with the Roman Catholic Church in Europe as a
whole. In addition, Catholics constitute only a plurality of the national populations—although a majority of
Christians—in the Netherlands and Switzerland, both of which historically have had significant Protestant
communities. The Roman Catholic percentage is also dropping in both countries (almost as precipitously
as the Protestants’ in the Netherlands), although the total number of Catholics has increased in Switzerland.

Independents (0.8% in 1970 and 1.5% in 2010) and Orthodox (0.7% in 1970 and 1.3% in 2010) have each
made small gains in the region. Independent growth is due mainly to immigration from Africa, Asia, and
Latin America and the arrival of different expressions of Christianity. Independents are poised to grow fast-
est among Christian traditions in most countries of the region between 1970 and 2020.

Germany is the only country in Western Europe in which Roman Catholics are not the largest Christian
tradition. In 1970 this was by a large margin: the country was 44.1% Protestant and 35.8% Roman Catho-
lic. However, this margin looks to shrink significantly by 2020, with Protestants claiming 30.1% and Roman
Catholics claiming 29.0% of the population. Affiliation with both traditions has declined over the 50- and
10-year periods, with Protestants seeing the faster drop 1970–2020 and Roman Catholics declining slightly
faster between 2010 and 2020.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Western Europe, 1970 & 2020
Concurrent with the decline of Christianity—the only 0.6% 1.4% Other
religion to have a negative rate of change over the
50-year period—are increases in other religions. Major 2.3% 3.1% Atheists
world religions have made significant advances in the
Muslims
region, including Buddhism (averaging 6.2% growth 1.2% 6.7%
per annum), Hinduism (5.3%), and Islam (3.8%), all
largely due to immigration and higher-than-average Agnostics
birth rates. Islam is now the third-largest religion in the
region, representing 6.1% of the total population in 7.2% 22.9%
2010. Despite the deleterious effects of World War II
and the Holocaust, Judaism in the region appears to
maintain steady representation throughout the 50-year
period, consistently 0.4% of Western Europe’s popu-
lation. Buddhists had tremendous gains, from only
43,000 in 1970 to 876,000 by 2020 (though still only
0.5% of the region’s population). Christians

The increase in Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists also
means increased opportunities for these religionists
to personally know a Christian. It is estimated that in
2010, 19% of Muslims, 34% of Buddhists, and 25% of
Hindus in Western Europe personally knew a Christian. 88.7% 65.9%
The lower percentage for Muslims is interesting: there 1970 2020
are far more Muslims in Western Europe than Hindus Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
and Buddhists combined, yet they seemingly have
less contact with Christians.

The influence of secularism, the deinstitutionalization of religion, and the continuing trend of disaffiliation
with the church is perhaps strongest in Western Europe. The non-religious (agnostics and atheists) repre-
sented 23.5% of the population in 2010, and this percentage is expected to increase to 26.0% by 2020.
Atheists and agnostics have some of the highest growth rates between 2010 and 2020.

Religionists in Western Europe
who know a Christian, 2010 Society
100
Immigration has become the “new normal” for all
100

80
countries in Western Europe. Increased immigra-
tion rates have put strains on numerous sectors of
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
society, including employment, schooling, and hous-
ing. The general public of many host countries has
60

Christians are declining as a percentage of Latin America’s
population, from 94.2% in 1970 to 92.1% by 2020, but Latin
American Christians are increasing as a percentage of the global
Christian population, from 22.0% in 1970 to 23.5% by 2020. Latin
America has been predominantly Roman Catholic throughout
the 50-year period, but their share is declining as well. Roman
Catholics represented 87.7% of the total population in 1970, but
only 79.7% by 2020. The largest populations of Catholics live in
Mexico and Brazil, Latin America’s two largest countries. To-
gether these nations make up slightly more than half of the total
population. Mexico was 90.7% Catholic in 1970, declined slightly
to 88.5% in 2010, and is expected to decline further to 86.1% in
2020. Brazil was 88.6% Catholic in 1970 and is expected to be 74.6% Catholic in 2020.

While some of the decline of Roman Catholicism can be attributed to secularization, the majority of those
who leave are joining Protestant or Pentecostal churches. For example, in Brazil—the country with the larg-
est Christian population in Latin America—Protestants and Independents combined represented 12.9% of
the population in 1970 but are expected to grow to 28.8% by 2020. Renewalists in Latin America have ex-
perienced astounding growth, from 12.8 million in 1970 to 181.3 million in 2010 and an expected 203.0 mil-
lion by 2020. Pentecostals in particular are gaining an increased role in public life. Guatemala has recently
had two Pentecostal presidents, and a Pentecostal political party has been founded in Nicaragua.

Evangelicals are also making gains in Latin America, growing from 9.2 million in 1970 to 47.2 million in
2010, with projected growth to 59.6 million by 2020. Brazil is home to the region’s largest two Evangelical
denominations, the Assemblies of God (23 million members) and the National Evangelization Crusade (2.3
million). The growth of both Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism has caused strain with the long-established
Roman Catholic Church.

Marginal Christianity has growth significantly in Latin America, from only 0.3% of the population in 1970 to
an expected 2.1% by 2020 (an average growth rate of 5.8% per year, the largest continent-wide growth
rate for any major Christian tradition globally over the 50-year period). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints has made great gains in some of the smaller island nations, such as Netherland Antilles, Aruba,
and St. Kitts & Nevis. Jehovah’s Witnesses averaged growth of more than 5% per year in Nicaragua and
Honduras and number over 40,000 in each country in 2010.

Religion

Latin America is the least-religiously-diverse continent in the world. Agnostics and Spiritists are the second-
and third-largest religious traditions in the region and are the only (besides Christianity) that represent more
than 1% of the region’s population. Ethnoreligionists, a distant fourth, claimed 0.7% of the region’s popula-

tion in 1970; this has fallen to 0.6% in 2010–20. Religious affiliation
in Latin America, 1970 & 2020
Agnostics represented 2.1% of Latin America’s popu-
1.1% 2.2%
lation in 1970 and 3.2% in 2010. Their annual growth Other
rate will continue to be nearly double that of the gen-
1.6% 2.2%
eral population between 2010 and 2020, giving agnos- Spiritists
tics 3.5% of the population by 2020. Nearly half of the
region’s agnostics live in the two most populous coun- 2.1% 3.5% Agnostics
tries, Brazil and Mexico, which were 2.4% and 2.6%
agnostic in 2010, respectively. In 1970, only Cuba and
Uruguay were more than 5% agnostic (30.7% and
28.2%). However, both of these are exceptional cases.
Uruguay has historically been one of the least-religious
countries in Latin America, with the overwhelming ma-
jority of its population of European descent (who are
generally less religious than indigenous Latin Ameri-
Christians
can ethnic groups). Cuba is still 59.2% Christian in
2010, but there is much mixing with traditional religions
such as Santería, a combination of Yoruba religion, Ro-
man Catholicism, and some indigenous religions.

The proportion of Spiritists in the region grew from
1.6% in 1970 to 2.3% in 2010 but is predicted to 94.2% 92.1%
decrease slightly to 2.2% by 2020. The largest popula- 1970 2020
tions of Spiritists reside in Brazil (9.4 million in 2010)
and Cuba (1.9 million). Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Spiritist communities around the world are quite small,
making it somewhat easier for them to have contact with Christians. However, Spiritists in Latin America
claim a larger proportion of the population, yet they still retain a considerable amount of personal interac-
tion with Christians, with 94% personally knowing a Chrisitan in 2010. Because of the small size of their
communities in Latin America, only 47% of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in Latin America personally
knew a Christian in 2010.

Society
Religionists in Latin America
Latin America (including the Caribbean) ranks com-
who know a Christian, 2010 paratively well on the United Nation’s eight Millen-
100 nium Development Goals but still face challenges.
100

Gains in labor productivity have been slow, con-
80 tributing to the continued reality of working poverty.
Percentage who know a Christian
80

In addition, differences in undernutrition between
60 rural and urban children are the largest in the world.
60

In 2012, 8% of children living in rural areas were
40 underweight in 2012, compared to only 4% in urban
40

Christians throughout Latin America are primarily Roman Catho-
lic, and the Caribbean is no exception. Catholicism has grown at
a rate slightly above general population growth—averaging 1.2%
per annum between 1970 and 2020—and including a projected
0.7% annually between 2010 and 2020, and has consistently rep-
resented just over 60% of the region’s population. Approximately
three quarters of Caribbean church members in 2010 were Ro-
man Catholic, and this will continue to be the case in 2020.

Protestants are the largest Christian tradition in most English-
speaking nations in the Caribbean. Most of the English-speaking
Caribbean also maintains a significant Anglican presence (above 10%), although the Anglican Church’s
share of the population declined throughout the twentieth century as it ceased to be the state church in
many nations.

Independents, the third-largest Christian tradition in the region, represented 4.2% of the population in 2010
and are growing at an even faster rate per annum than Protestants, averaging 2.6% per annum from 1970
to 2020.

In most Caribbean countries, Christianity’s average Religious affiliation
annual growth over the 50-year period falls just short in the Caribbean, 1970 & 2020
of keeping pace with general population growth. Only
1.5% 1.5%
in Cuba has Christian growth surpassed population Other
growth in the 50-year period (averaging 1.1% and 2.0% 1.3% Atheists
0.5% per annum, respectively). Cuba’s relatively large
population (one quarter of the regional total), however,
Agnostics
weights the statistics in favor of Christian growth. Rela- 11.0% 6.1%
tively slow growth in Cuba might alter this in the future.
7.3% 6.4% Spiritists
Religion

Spiritists are the second-largest religious group in the
Caribbean. Spiritism grew rapidly over much of the
twentieth century, increasing from 0.8% of the region’s
population in 1910 to 7.3% of the population in 1970. Christians
Voodoo in Haiti and a variety of Afro-Caribbean Spirit-
ist groups throughout the region expanded dramati-
cally in this period. However, Spiritism’s growth is ex-
pected to slow to an average 0.9% per annum over the
period 1970–2020 and 0.2% per annum over 2010–20,
reducing its share of the population to 6.4% by 2020.
Cuba’s relatively large population again masks the 78.2% 84.7%
overall trend in the region: the growth of Spiritism out- 1970 2020
stripped general population growth over the 50-year
period—in most cases exceeding it by far—in every Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
country except Cuba and Saint Vincent. In 2010, 72%
of Spiritists personally knew a Christian, the lowest
percentage for the religion among Latin America’s three regions.

Agnostics and atheists were the third- and fourth-largest groups in the region in 2010. Both groups had
strong growth rates between 1910 and 2010, but this will reverse itself looking forward to 2020. For exam-
ple, agnostics and atheists have declined from 11.0% and 2.0% of the population, respectively, in 1970 to
6.7% and 1.6% in 2010 despite increasing in number over that period. Their actual numbers are expected
to decline between 2010 and 2020, however (av-
eraging -0.4% and -1.0% annual rates of change,
Religionists in the Caribbean respectively).
who know a Christian, 2010
100
Society
100

Natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake
80
Percentage who know a Christian
80

in Haiti and regular hurricanes and floods are not
uncommon in the Caribbean. These events affect
60
60

the region environmentally (water contamination and
habitat destruction), but also have a huge impact
40
40

socially, causing death and raising unemployment
and homelessness. They are also particularly devas-
20
20

tating in the Caribbean due to the incredibly high
rates of poverty in many communities.
0
0

The story of religious change in Central America since 1970 has
been the increasing diversification of Christian traditions. The
region was 89.8% Roman Catholic in 1970 and is expected to
be 83.9% Roman Catholic in 2020. Roman Catholics’ average
annual rate of growth (0.9%) is expected to remain below the
rate of population growth in the region (1.2%) between 2010 and
2020. Mexico, whose geographic area and population vastly
outweigh those of the rest of the region, has maintained the high-
est levels of Catholicism, decreasing only from 90.7% in 1970 to
88.5% in 2010.

The growth of Independent—and especially Pentecostal—churches throughout Central America since 1970
has been undeniably dramatic. These groups were founded largely in the early twentieth century through
the influence of or distantly resonating with the Azusa Street Revival. They established themselves as sepa-
rate entities and often fragmented further through the middle part of the century. Independent Christians
represented 2.1% of the region’s population in 1970 and 4.3% in 2010, and they are projected to reach
4.8% of the population by 2020.

Protestant churches have experienced even more dramatic growth than Independents, increasing steadily
from 2.1% of the population in 1970 to a projected 7.3% in 2020. In 2010 Protestants represented more
than 10 million Central Americans. Throughout the region, Protestant percentages are expected to exceed
10% of the population for the period 2010–20 in every country except Mexico.

Marginal Christians represented less than 1% of the region’s population in 1970. Over the period 1970–
2020 their rate of growth is forecast to be at least double that of the general population in every country
in the region, although Marginals still represent only 2–3% of each country in 2010. Growth for the period
2010–20 is expected to remain at least double that of the general population in El Salvador and Nicaragua
(and almost so in Mexico), while in Guatemala in will drop below the general population rate.

Religion

Central America was 97.6% Christian in 1970 and is projected to remain 95.6% Christian in 2020. Agnos-
tics represented the second-largest religious group in the region in 2010 at 3.8 million (2.4% of the popula-
tion); they are also the second-largest group in every country except Belize, where they rank sixth. They
show the highest regional growth rates for both 2000–10 and 2010–20 and are projected to represent 2.7%

of the population in 2020. Ethnoreligionists are the only Religious affiliation
other group that has more than both 1 million adher- in Central America, 1970 & 2020
ents and 1.0% of the regional population in 2010. They
0.4% 0.7%
also exceed the 1% level in Mexico and Panama. On Other
a country basis, Baha’is exceed the 1% level in Belize
0.7% 1.0%
(where they rank second in size after Christians) and Ethnoreligionists
Panama in 2010. Other religions having at least 1% of
the population include Hindus (Belize) and Spiritists 1.3% 2.7% Agnostics
(Belize and Nicaragua).

Growth rates for all religions other than Christianity are
projected to exceed the general population growth
rate in the region over 1970–2020. Hindus, atheists,
New religionists, and Spiritists have the highest rates,
although their most rapid percentage growth occurred
early in the period. Sikhs grew less rapidly than the
Christians
general population 2000–10, however, as did ethnore-
ligionists and Jews. That trend is projected to continue
for the latter two over 2010–20 as well, with Jews los-
ing population over the period.

Overall, 47% of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists
in Central America personally knew a Christian in 97.6% 95.6%
2010. Muslims in the region have more contact with 1970 2020
Christians than in any other region in Latin America:
78%, compared to Latin America’s combined 47%. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Buddhists have more contact compared to the other
regions (31%) as well, while Hindus have less (32%).

Society

The twentieth century, especially the latter part, saw internal war throughout most of Central America.
Although these wars were not primarily motivated by religious interests, lay Christians and ecclesiastical
leaders took sides in the conflicts.

Perception of and adherence to Christian groups
Religionists in Central America
shifted with the popularity of political ideas. Many
who know a Christian, 2010 Protestants were perceived to align ideologically
100 with Marxists and Communists, and as the United
100

States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba fought pup-
80 pet wars in Latin America, identification with such
Percentage who know a Christian
80

groups carried its own risks. Loyalty to the Roman
60 Catholic Church became undeniably political. After
60

the USSR unraveled, the spirit of Ché Guevara and
40 other leftist revolutionaries continued to divide Chris-
40

tians of the region. These political interests also
20 shaped Liberation Theology, which divided many
20

The Christian percentage of South America’s population dropped
from 95.1% in 1970 to 91.9% in 2010 and is anticipated to drop
again slightly by 2020, to 91.4%. Like Latin America generally,
the vast majority of this region is Roman Catholic. Catholicism,
however, is one of only two Christian traditions in the region (the
other is Anglicanism) whose growth over the 50-year period
(averaging 1.4% per annum) will not keep pace with general
population growth (1.6%), and it is the only tradition that is not
projected to keep pace with population growth between 2010
and 2020.

The relative decline of Catholicism has paralleled explosive Protestant, Independent, and Marginal growth.
Brazil typifies these changes and, because nearly 50% of South America’s population lives there, heav-
ily weights the statistics presented here. Brazil was 88.6% Roman Catholic in 1970 and 77.1% Catholic in
2010. This share is projected to continue decreasing, to 74.6% in 2020. Protestants represent the second-
largest Christian group in Brazil, increasing from 7.6% of the population in 1970 to 16.6% in 2010 and
17.6% (37 million people) in 2020. Independents have increased from 5.3% in 1970 to 10.4% in 2010 and
11.2% in 2020. Marginal groups, although representing a less-significant numerical share of Brazil’s popu-
lation, have increased from 0.3% in 1970 to 1.5% in 2010 and 1.7% in 2020.

This pattern of slight Catholic decline and strong Protestant, Independent, and Marginal growth is repeated
throughout most of South America. Notable exceptions are the small nation of Guyana, where the majority
of Christians are Protestant (26.8% of the total population in 2010, up from 13.3% in 1970), and Suriname,
where all Christian groups are on the rise but especially Catholics, with a growth rate of 1.5% over the
50-year period and 1.3% from 2010-2020, compared to 0.9% and 0.8% growth in the general population.
It is also worth pointing out that in Chile, Independents are expected to make up 25.1% of the population
by 2020 (up from 14.7% in 1970 and 23.8% in 2010), a greater share by far than in any other country in the
region and representing 4.7 million people by 2020. The only other countries where Independents’ share
rises out of the single digits are Brazil (11.2% by 2020) and Guyana (11.0% by 2020). The rise of Indepen-

dents and Protestants throughout the region reflects a Religious affiliation
thriving Pentecostal movement. in South America, 1970 & 2020
2.3% 2.5% Other
Religion
1.4% 2.6% Spiritists
Agnosticism and Spiritism are the only groups other
than Christianity representing more than 1% of the
region’s population in either 1970 or 2020. Agnostics 1.2% 3.5% Agnostics
constituted 3.1% of the region’s population in 2010, up
from 1.2% in 1970, and the growth rate of this group
is expected to far outstrip general population growth
between 2010–20, reaching 3.5% of the population by
2020. Spiritists represented 1.4% of South America’s
population in 1970 and represent 2.6% in 2010–20.

Ethnoreligionists presently claim more than 1.0% of the Christians
population in a number of countries, but the growth
rate of this group in 2010–20 is not keeping pace
with population growth in most countries (Brazil is the
exception, where ethnoreligions’ growth is expected to
match population growth).
95.1% 91.4%
Suriname was 50.3% Christian in 2010. The balance
1970 2020
of Suriname’s small population is mostly Hindu (23.4%
in 1970, 20.4% 2010–20) and Muslim (13.4%, 15.9%). Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
In Guyana (54.8% Christian in 2010), Hindus make up Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
30.1% of the population, and Muslims make up 7.5%,
and these numbers will hold fairly steady to 2020. Note that outside of Suriname and Guyana, Muslims are
significantly represented only in Argentina (2.0% in 2010–20). Baha’is also represent 1.6% of the population
of Guyana, making it one of only two countries where the Baha’i faith has statistical impact (the other being
Bolivia). As elsewhere, ethnoreligionists, agnostics, and Spiritists make up significant minorities in both
Suriname and Guyana.

In Uruguay (63.9% Christian in 2010), agnostics and atheists together make up over 30% of the population
throughout the 50-year period, representing 28.0%
and 6.5% in 2010, respectively. Jews also made up
Religionists in South America
1.2% of Uruguay’s population, and this percentage
who know a Christian, 2010 is expected hold steady through 2020. Uruguay is
100 the only country in South America where Jews make
100

up more than 1.0% of the population. Overall for
80 South America, 46% of Muslims, Hindus, and Bud-
Percentage who know a Christian
80

dhists personally knew a Christian in 2010.
60
60

40
Society
40

20
Drug production and trafficking in South America
continues to plague the region, with traffickers
20

0
becoming increasingly sophisticated and violent.
South America is the only place where cocaine is
0

produced, with the United States as its major mar-
ket. Governmental pressure, including from abroad,
on drug producers in Columbia has caused traffick-
ers to find new growing areas in Peru and Bolivia.
*Few or none Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
present in region Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

The demographics of Northern America are dominated by the
United States. In no other region does a single country hold
a higher share (more than 90%) of the total population or the
Christian population, let alone both. As a consequence, patterns
in Northern America (e.g., growth rates for all Christians and for
Christian traditions) follow those of the United States. Most of the
remaining population—total and Christian—lives in Canada; the
other three countries combined account for less than 0.1% of the
region’s population.

Over the period 1970–2010 the Christian share of the population in each country shrank—most dramatical-
ly in Canada, where Christians fell from 94.5% of the population in 1970 to 69.4% in 2010, with a projected
drop to 66.0% by 2020. The United States also saw a large decline in its Christian percentage, from 90.9%
of the population in 1970 to 80.1% in 2010 (78.1% by 2020). Roman Catholics are the largest single Chris-
tian tradition, although only a plurality, in both Canada (where they are also a majority of church members)
and the United States. The Catholic share of Canada’s population has held steady over the 40-year period
(41.7% in 1970, 43.6%% in 2020), but there are sharp losses among both Protestants (from 19.1% of the to-
tal population in 1970 to 9.4% in 2020) and Anglicans (from 5.4% in 1970 to 1.5% in 2020). Similar patterns
are evident in the United States (Roman Catholics: 23.1% in 1970 and 22.5% by 2020; Protestants: 27.3%
versus 16.5%; Anglicans: 1.5% versus 0.6%). Note that Independents have surpassed Protestants as the
second-largest tradition in the United States.

In Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Roman Catholics constitute an overwhelming majority of the total population,
although this decreased somewhat over the period (96.1% in 1970; 93.3% in 2010). In Greenland—more
than 95% Christian 1970–2020—most church members are Protestant (over 97% for the entire period). The
Protestant share of the total population, however, has declined steadily, from 75.3% in 1970 to 66.3% in
2010 and a projected 63.3% by 2020.

The seeming paradox in Northern America as a whole is the rise in the number of Christians who are not
affiliated with any particular church tradition. This phenomenon has been occurring most prominently in
Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The religiously unaffiliated—who include, but not exclusively,
agnostics and atheists—is a major change in the religious demographics of the region.

Religion

Agnostics are the second-largest group of religionists in every country in the region. By 2020 they will have
tripled from their 1970 percentages in the United States and Bermuda (and regionally) and increased their
share by a factor of almost six in Saint Pierre & Miquelon, seven in Canada, and 13 in Greenland. In Cana-

da, Jews—the third-largest group in 1970 (1.3% of the Religious affiliation
population)—have dropped to eighth in size as of 2010 in Northern America, 1970 & 2020
and will fall to ninth (1.0%) by 2020. Both Muslims and
0.6% 2.9%
atheists are expected to reach 1 million adherents by Other
that time. The presence of nine religions each with at 0.1% 1.3% Buddhists
least 1% of the total population makes Canada one of 3.0% 1.4% Jews
the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
0.4% 1.6% Muslims

In the United States, Jews continue to rank third in
size, despite a declining population—from 6.7 mil- 4.7% 15.9% Agnostics
lion (3.2% of the total) to 5.1 million (1.5%) over the
period 1970–2010. Over the same period Muslims
have grown from 800,000 (0.4%) to 4.1 million (1.3%).
If current trends continue, Muslims will pass Jews as
the third-largest religious group in the United States
not long after 2020. The only other group claiming at
least 1% of the total population is Buddhists, who have
grown from 0.1% in 1970 to 1.3% in 2010–20.
Christians
Among the other countries, Bermuda is 2.7% Spiritist
and about 1% Muslim in 2010–20 (up from 1.9% and
0% in 1970). In Greenland the ethnoreligionist popula-
tion is projected to decline slightly in both size and
percentage (from 1.1% in 1970 to 0.7% in 2020) while 91.2% 76.9%
Baha’is show an increase (from 0.4% to 0.7%). Baha’is 1970 2020
are expected to constitute 1.5% of the population of Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Saint Pierre & Miquelon in 2020 as well, up from 0.9%
in 1970.

Given the religious diversity of Northern America, it is surprising that only 80% of all religionists person-
ally knew a Christian in 2010. The percentages for Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists are lower in Northern
America than in many regions of Latin America, which has much smaller populations of these religionists.

Religionists in Northern America Society
who know a Christian, 2010
100
All countries in the region face issues of unemploy-
ment and underemployment. Greenland experienc-
100

80
es high rates of alcoholism and suicide as well. In
the United States and Canada, social issues include
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
the role of immigrants in society (both legal and un-
documented); providing (or maintaining) social ser-
60

Christianity in Oceania has undergone significant changes
over the 50-year period. In 1970, Christians were 92.5% of the
region’s population. This is a marked increase from the 1910
Christian percentage (78.6%) and is indicative of the great suc-
cess of missionary efforts from many different Christian traditions.
In a sense, 1970 embodies the height of Christianity in Ocea-
nia, following large-scale conversions from traditional religions,
especially in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Since 1970,
however, Christianity’s percentage of the population has been
declining in all regions. Two major factors in its decline are (1)
secularization, primarily in Australia and New Zealand, which dominate Oceania demographically; and (2)
a decrease in conversions from ethnoreligions in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Between 1970 and 2020 Christianity is expected to grow more slowly than the general population in Ocea-
nia (with average annual rates of 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively), resulting in a continued decrease in the
religion’s share of the population. Regionally, however, Christianity is expected to grow more rapidly than
the population in Melanesia. This is likely because ethnoreligions are still quite prominent in that region
(the second-largest religion, with 2.8% of the population in 2020), and thus could provide opportunities for
conversions.

The internal make-up of Christianity in Oceania is also expected to change. Anglicanism and Protestantism
are the oldest traditions in the region as a result of early missionary efforts, in the latter case by Methodists,
Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Lutherans. As a result, in 1970 Anglicans and Protestants repre-
sented 46.4% of the regional population. By 2020, however, that percentage is likely to drop to 34.4%, with
Anglicanism actually shrinking (there will likely be only as many Anglicans in 2020 as there were in 1970).

Roman Catholics, Independents, Marginals, and Orthodox have each made gains over the 50-year period,
although the Catholic percentage has been shrinking since 2000. Orthodox in particular have grown from
1.7% of the population to 2.6%, with more than 1 million adherents projected for 2020. However, nearly all
of Oceania’s Orthodox are found in Australia. Orthodoxy is relatively new in Australia and largely a product
of immigration from Europe. The largest Orthodox traditions in Australia in 2010 were Greek Orthodox (over
500,000 members), Macedonian Orthodox (57,000), and Russian Orthodox (54,700). Marginal Christian
traditions have also grown, mostly due to missionary efforts from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons), which in 2010 had 129,000 adherents in Australia alone.

Religion

In 1910, most of Oceania was either Christian (78.6%) or ethnoreligionist (19.7%). By 1970 the nonreligious
replaced ethnoreligionists as the second-largest tradition, with agnostics and atheists combined compos-

ing 4.5% of the population and ethnoreligionists drop- Religious affiliation
ping to only 0.8% (157,000 adherents). Large numbers in Oceania, 1970 & 2020
of ethnoreligionists converted to Christianity during
1.4% 2.5%
the twentieth century, raising Christianity’s share of the Other
population to 92.5% by 1970. However, since 1970 the 1.1% 1.4% Hindus
region has experienced a strong trend toward secular- 1.1% 1.7%
Atheists
ization. As a result, the nonreligious population grew to 0.4% 1.7% Muslims
16.4% in 2010, with a projected increase to 19.4% by 0.1% 1.7% Buddhists
2020.
Agnostics
One major factor affecting the religious demograph- 3.4% 17.7%
ics of Oceania is high rates of immigration from Asian
countries. China is a significant sending country,
contributing to the rise in Chinese folk-religionists (only
16,900 in 1970 and over 100,000 in 2010) and agnos-
tics in the region. Many migrants also arrive from India,
increasing the region’s Hindu population (218,000
in 1970 and over 500,000 in 2010). Buddhists have
increased significantly as well, due to migrants from
Vietnam and other South-eastern Asian countries. Bud- Christians
dhism is the third-largest religion in the region, with
717,000 adherents by 2020 (1.7%), with the highest
average annual growth rate of the major religions over
the 50-year period (7.8%). Muslims have also experi- 92.5% 73.3%
enced growth, from 0.4% of the population in 1970 to 1970 2020
1.7% in 2010. Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

In 2010, Oceania had nearly equal numbers of Bud-
dhists, Muslims, and atheists. In addition, on average, 49% of individuals in these traditions personally
knew a Christian.

Most religious traditions are expected to grow more rapidly than the general population over the period
2010–20. The most rapid growth is expected among atheists (averaging 3.9% per annum), Confucianists
(3.6%), and agnostics (3.0%).

Society
Religionists in Oceania
who know a Christian, 2010 Every nation in Oceania is surrounded by water,
100 which often puts them at great risk from many en-
100

vironmental issues. Globally, the countries with the
80 most greenhouse gas emissions are least vulnerable
Percentage who know a Christian
80

to their effects, leaving smaller, and often poorer,
60 countries in regions like Oceania to respond to the
60

resulting challenges. Rising sea levels have had
40 severe consequences on both humans and biodi-
40

versity, resulting in loss of habitat. Pacific Island-
20 ers need to be involved in the global conversation
20

surrounding climate change in order to implement
0 effective strategies to combat its potentially deleteri-
0

In a pattern similar to that in many European regions, Christian-
ity in Australia/New Zealand is losing its dominance. The region
as a whole was 93.4% Christian in 1970 but dropped to 70.8%
in 2010. By 2020 the Christian percentage is expected to reach
65.6%, lower than that of any region in Europe for the same year.
Christianity’s share of the population has declined more rapidly in
New Zealand than in Australia—the number of Christians in New
Zealand was less in 2000 than in 1970, although it has increased
since 2000. Growth over the period 1970–2020 averages only
0.05% per annum in New Zealand, compared to Australia’s 0.7%.
Most Christians in the region rarely attend church services except for special occasions like weddings,
funerals, Christmas, and Easter. The church has had a declining impact on culture in the region, with most
public discourse surrounding secular, rather than overtly religious, values. A general decline of respect and
interest in religious institutions in public life characterizes the region, similar to the situation in Europe.

Historically, Anglicans have been the largest major Christian tradition in Australia/New Zealand. Since
1970, however, Roman Catholicism has surpassed Anglicanism as the largest major Christian tradition in
the region (23.1% of the population in 2010, compared to Anglicanism’s 16.6%). Protestantism is also on
the decline, from 17.8% of the population in 1970 to 11.5% by 2020.

Orthodox and Marginals are the only traditions that are poised to increase their shares of the population
over the 50-year period. The rise in Orthodox is due to immigration from European countries (such as
Macedonian Orthodox from the former Yugoslavia and Orthodox of the ancient Assyrian Church of the East
from Iraq and Iran). Marginal growth has been the result of missionary efforts from the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mormons now total 129,000 in Australia
and 101,000 in New Zealand; Jehovah’s Witnesses are 91,700 in Australia and 23,200 in New Zealand.
Smaller marginal groups include Christian Scientists and Christadelphians (“Brethren in Christ,” a Unitarian
group founded in Northern America in the nineteenth century).

Independents are poised to grow in New Zealand, from 1.5% of the population in 1970 to 3.9% in 2020.
The largest Independent church in New Zealand is the Ratana Church, founded in 1918 by a Maori ex-
Methodist. The church has made significant gains among the indigenous Maori population, featuring a
fusion of Christian and Maori rituals, hymns, and prayers.

Religion

Agnostics and atheists in Australia and New Zealand (ranking second and third) together constituted
22.2% of the region’s population in 2010, with a projected share of 26.7% by 2020. The only majority nonre-
ligious people group in Australia is Han Chinese (Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking); Anglo-Australians
are 76% Christian. Anglo-New Zealanders, equally split between Christianity and agnosticism, are more
non-religious than their Australian neighbors. It is likely, however, that the scale will tip toward agnosticism,

since agnostics in New Zealand are poised to grow at Religious affiliation
least six times as fast as Christians between 2010 and in Australia/New Zealand, 1970 & 2020
2020. 0.6% 2.2% Other
0.1% 1.1% Hindus
Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus (ranked fourth, fifth, 0.2% 2.1% Muslims
and sixth) have all made gains in the region, primarily 0.1% 2.3% Buddhists
a result of immigration from various Asian countries. 1.4% 2.3% Atheists
In Australia the largest of these is Muslims, with most
adherents coming from Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, and
Agnostics
Iraq. In New Zealand, Buddhists are the largest of the
three, hailing mainly from Cambodia, China, Japan, 4.2% 24.4%
and Sri Lanka. In both cases, many of these religion-
ists are refugees and migrant workers. Regionally
in 2010, 23% of these religionists personally knew a
Christian.

Over the 10-year period between 2010 and 2020, the
fastest-growing religions in the region are expected to
be atheism (averaging 4.0% per annum), Confucian-
ism (3.6%), and agnosticism (3.1%). Many groups of Christians
religionists (such as Daoists, Zoroastrians, and Jains)
were virtually nonexistent in the region in 1970 but
are now found in small populations. Every religion in
Australia/New Zealand is poised to grow faster than 93.4% 65.6%
the general population over the 50-year period except 1970 2020
Christianity, which is poised to grow only one third as Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
quickly. This growth could potentially encourage more
interaction between other world religionists and Chris-
tians.

Society
Religionists in Australia/New Zealand
who know a Christian, 2010 Despite marked progress throughout the twentieth
100 century, indigenous populations in Australia and
New Zealand still suffer inequality in relation to
100

80 European-descended populations. Maori in New
Percentage who know a Christian

Zealand continue to suffer higher rates of poverty,
80

60 incarceration, illness, and abuse. A major issue is
protecting Maori property and treaty rights; a battle
60

40 persists with the government over indigenous land
claims. The situation is similar in Australia among
40

20 Aboriginal people, where a cycle of poverty, ill
health, and violence continues to plague the popu-
20

Melanesia (consisting of five island nations, the largest of which
are Papua New Guinea and Fiji) is the only region in Oceania in
which Christians’ share of the total population shows continuing
growth between 1970 and 2020. Gains in the region are be-
ing made largely through conversions from traditional religions,
part of a larger trajectory reaching back to 1910. In 1910 the
region was overwhelmingly ethnoreligionist (83.3%); by 1970 the
region was 87.3% Christian and only 4.2% ethnoreligionist due
to the vast missionary effort from a variety of Christian traditions.
Christianity is averaging annual growth of 2.5% between 1970
and 2020, slightly higher than that of the overall population (2.4%). Even over the 10-year period 2010–20,
Christianity is expected to outpace general population growth (2.1% for Christians, 2.0% for the general
population).

The largest Christian tradition in Melanesia in 2010 was Protestantism. Protestants are growing in the re-
gion, representing 36.7% of the population in 1970 and 47.5% by 2020 (average annual growth of 2.9%).
The majority of Protestants in the region are Methodists. In Fiji, Methodists are very politically active, taking
sides in tensions between ethnic Fijians and Indian Fijians (who are largely Hindu). The fastest Christian
growth in the region is among Independents, with average annual growth of 5.1% growth rate over the
50-year period. It should be noted, however, that this rapid growth resulted at least in part from the small
number of Independents in 1970 (51,000) compared to Protestants (1.2 million).

Papua New Guinea and Fiji contain over 85% of Melanesia’s population. The largest Christian tradition
in Papua New Guinea is Roman Catholicism (1.9 million members), followed by Evangelical Lutheran
(858,000), United Church of Christ (624,000), and Assemblies of God (569,000). The Christian make-up
is very different in Fiji, where the largest denominations are Methodism (280,000), Roman Catholicism
(101,100), and Assemblies of God (64,000). The diversity of Christianity in Melanesia is apparent in this
listing, representing both Evangelical and Pentecostal traditions. In addition, Independent churches have
experienced significant growth. In Fiji, Independents were just 0.7% of the population in 1970, but by 2020
they will likely be 8.3%. The situation is the same in Papua New Guinea, where Independents are projected
to grow from 1.2% of the population in 1970 to 5.3% in 2020. The largest churches and denominations in
Melanesia include Christian Fellowship Church, Christian Revival Church, Pentecostal Church, and Solo-
mons Baptist Association.

Religion

Only three of the world’s religions have over 100,000 adherents in Melanesia in 2010: Christians (9.8 mil-
lion), ethnoreligionists (296,000), and Hindus (251,000). Ethnoreligionists are predicted to decline from

4.2% of the population in 1970 to 2.8% in 2020, largely Religious affiliation
due to conversions to Christianity. Numerous people in Melanesia, 1970 & 2020
groups in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu remain
2.2% 2.7%
majority ethnoreligionist, though many of these groups Other
are particularly small (less than 2,000 people each; in
Hindus
the case of Vanuatu, all less than 1,000). 6.3% 2.4%

Ethnoreligionists
Hindus have a historic presence in the region, par- 4.2% 2.8%
ticularly in Fiji. Indo-Fijians are descendants of inden-
tured servants brought to the island by the British in
the nineteenth century. Not all Indo-Fijians are Hindu;
some are Muslim, Christian, or Sikh. However, Hindus
in Fiji have undergone persecution from the Method-
ist Church of Fiji, which after a coup d’état in 1987
endorsed forceful conversions to Christianity. Although
Hindus are greatly outnumbered by Christians in Fiji,
only 23% of them personally know a Christian. This is
lower than Buddhists who know a Christian (34%) and Christians
Chinese folk-religionists (34%).

The Baha’i faith is the third-largest religion in Papua
New Guinea, after Christianity and ethnoreligions. 87.3% 92.1%
Baha’is arrived in Papua New Guinea in 1954 at the 1970 2020
direction of the religion’s founder, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Some
local converts were made, and the community totaled
9,300 in 1970 (0.4% of the population). They have Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
maintained steady growth, increasing to nearly 60,000
in 2010 (0.9% of the population).

Religionists in Melanesia
Society
who know a Christian, 2010
100
The traditional ways of life that have sustained the
100

societies of Melanesia are breaking down. High
80
levels of immigration are leading to increased rates
Percentage who know a Christian
80

Micronesia is home to seven island nations, the most populous of
which is Guam, with 180,000 residents in 2010 (followed by Fed-
erated States of Micronesia, with 113,000). Christianity remains
strong in Micronesia, though Christians have declined slightly
as a share of the total population since 1970. Between 2010 and
2020, however, Christianity is projected to grow at about the
same rate as the general population (about 1.2% annually). Bar-
ring major changes in mortality rates, increased defections from
the religion, or mass emigration, it is likely that Micronesia will
retain its high Christian representation well into the future.

Most Christians in Micronesia are Roman Catholic or Protestant. Roman Catholics grew as a share of the
regional population, from 54.6% in 1970 to 62.8% in 2000, although this trend has reversed since then;
Catholic percentages fell to 60.7% in 2010 and are predicted to decline further, to 57.8%, by 2020. Every
country in the region is majority-Roman Catholic except Palau, where Roman Catholics are the largest plu-
rality, and the Marshall Islands, which is majority Protestant (the largest denomination there is the Assem-
blies of God). Like Roman Catholics, Protestants are declining as a percentage of the regional population,
from 35.3% in 1970 to 33.3% in 2010 and 32.8% by 2020.

Independents and Marginals have experienced steady growth in the region over the 50-year period. From
5,400 adherents in 1970 (2.2% of the regional population), Independents are expected to reach almost
30,000 by 2020 (a 4.9% share). The largest Independent representation in the region (over 10,000) is in the
Northern Mariana Islands. This includes 3,400 Independent Filipino Baptists (who first arrived in 1985) and
2,500 Independent Korean Presbyterians (who first arrived in 1980).

Marginal Christians had even more dramatic growth, rising from 1,500 in 1970 (0.6% of the regional popu-
lation) to nearly 35,000 (5.7%) by 2020. Every country in the region has a community of Marginal Chris-
tians, mostly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and, to a much lesser
extent, Jehovah’s Witnesses. The largest Marginal populations in 2010 are in Kiribati (13,800), the Marshall
Islands (5,900), and Federated States of Micronesia (4,500). Of these, the fastest growth over the 10-year
period 2010–20 is expected to be in the Marshall Islands, averaging 2.0% per annum (faster than the 1.4%
general-population growth rate of the country). Arriving in the country in 1960, Mormons represented 9.8%
of the population of the Marshall Islands in 2010, with 11 congregations. In Kiribati, Mormons are 13.6% of
the population with 39 congregations. In both countries, Mormonism is the third-largest Christian denomi-
nation.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Micronesia, 1970 & 2020
Christianity is, by a wide margin, the dominant reli- 0.1% 0.5% Other
gion in Micronesia, though other religions have made 2.1% 0.7% Ethnoreligionists
gains since 1970. Buddhists, Baha’is, agnostics, and 0.6% 1.2% Chinese folk-religionists
Chinese folk-religionists all increased their shares of
the region’s population, but each represents less than 0.5% 1.3% Agnostics
2% in 2010 and 2020. Buddhism, the second-largest 1.1% 1.5% Baha’is
religion in the region, has grown from only 350 ad-
0.1% 1.7%
herents in 1970 to an expected 10,000 by 2020, an Buddhists
average annual rate of 6.9% over the 50-year period.
Growth will slow considerably between 2010 and 2020,
however, averaging only 0.9% per annum. The Baha’i
faith, the third-largest religion, is predicted to grow
from 2,600 adherents in 1970 (1.1% of the population)
to 9,100 in 2020 (1.5%). The Baha’i appear to have a
significant amount of personal interaction with Chris-
tians in Micronesia (nearly all adherents likely knew a Christians
Christian in 2010).

Over the 10-year period between 2010 and 2020,
agnostics are expected to grow at an average annual
rate of 2.0% per annum, more than any religionists
except Hindus (who are thought to number fewer than 95.5% 93.1%
100) and above the region’s overall average growth 1970 2020
rate of 1.2%. This is comparable to the 10-year rate for Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Melanesia but much slower than Oceania’s of 3.0%,
which is dominated by Australia/New Zealand’s much
larger population. Agnosticism is the second-largest religion in Guam, with 1.6% of the country’s population
in 2010 (although fewer than 3,000 individuals). This is largely due to the presence of Han Chinese in the
country (both Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking), mostly as migrant workers.

Most of the Buddhists (as well as tiny New religionist populations) in the region are Japanese business
workers. Chinese folk-religionists in the region are Han Chinese, and Muslims are Bengalis in Palau, both
migrant worker populations.

Religionists in Micronesia
Society
who know a Christian, 2010
100
Micronesia, especially the Federated States of
100

Micronesia (FSM), is a source of sex-trafficked
80
women and young girls. Women are recruited with
Percentage who know a Christian
80

promises of well-paying jobs in the United States
60
and its territories, only to be forced into prostitution
60

or labor upon arrival. The FSM government does not
40
have in place any robust efforts to punish offend-
40

ers. The FSM is on the U.S. State Department’s Tier
20
2 Watch List of the Office to Monitor and Combat
20

Sex Trafficking in Persons, which includes countries
0
whose governments do not comply with minimum
0

Polynesia consists of nine island nations, ranging in population
in 2010 from 1,200 (both Niue and Tokelau) to 273,000 (French
Polynesia). Christianity is the majority religion in Polynesia, by
the widest margin of any region in the world. Christians were
98.1% of the population in 1970, and by 2020 will likely represent
96.1%. Over both the 50-year period and the 10-year period
2010–20, Christianity is expected to maintain growth rates similar
to those of the general population. Barring any unforeseen cir-
cumstances, the religious make-up of Polynesia will likely remain
the same into the future.

The largest major Christian tradition in Polynesia is Protestantism, the result of missionary efforts from a
multitude of denominations. In 2010, Protestants constituted 48.6% of the region’s population; this repre-
sents a decline from 1970 (52.6%), however, as Marginal, Independent, and Roman Catholic populations
have grown more quickly. The largest Protestant tradition in the region is Congregationalism, with signifi-
cant populations in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Samoa. Methodists also have a signifi-
cant presence in the region.

Roman Catholics are the largest group of Christians in French Polynesia (where they are a plurality) and
Wallis & Futuna (more than 95% of the total population 1970–2020). French Polynesia actually was home to
more Protestants than Catholics in 1970 (42.3% and 35.2% of the total population, respectively). By 2010,
however, their positions had swapped, and it is likely that in 2020 Roman Catholics will constitute 40.3% of
the country population and Protestants 34.9%. Though both are declining as a percentage, Protestants are
doing so at a faster rate. In Wallis & Futuna Islands, Roman Catholics are 96.1% of the population 2010 and
unlikely to be challenged by other traditions for the top spot.

An important change in Polynesia’s Christian landscape during this period is the dramatic increase of Mar-
ginal Christian populations, who are overwhelmingly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons). Latter-day Saints entered the region in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centu-
ries. In 1970, Marginal Christians were 12.2% of the population; by 2010 this had risen to 27.0%. Tonga is
the only country in the world in which the majority of Christians—and residents—are Marginal Christians
(54.3% of the total population in 2010). In fact, of the largest Marginal populations (by percentage) in the
world, the top four are in Polynesia (Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and American Samoa), with over 22% of the total
population in each.

Religion Religious affiliation
in Polynesia, 1970 & 2020
The religious context of Polynesia is not nearly as 1.3% 1.6% Other
diverse as in other regions of Oceania. While all the
major world religions are present in Polynesia, most
0.6% 2.3%
populations (including Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, and Agnostics
Muslims) are under 1,000 adherents each for the entire
region. The second-largest religion in Polynesia is
agnosticism, which grew from 0.6% of the population
in 1970 to 2.2% in 2010 (and likely 2.3% in 2020). In
2010, 99% of agnostics in the region personally knew
a Christian.

Christianity is the largest religion in every country
in the region. In most countries agnosticism is the
second largest, while in both Tonga and Tokelau, the Christians
Baha’i faith is the second largest. In Wallis & Fu-
tuna, ethnoreligionists are the second-largest group
of religious adherents; this is the only country in the
region in which they constitute a substantial share of
the population (1.2% in 2010). The Baha’i faith is the
third-largest religion in Polynesia, with 6,100 adherents
98.1% 96.1%
in 2010 (0.9% of the population). Samoans (Ameri-
1970 2020
can Samoa and Samoa), Maori (Cook Islands), and
Tahitians (French Polynesia) all have small numbers
of adherents to the Baha’i Faith, mostly from conver- Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
sions. Similar to other regions in Oceania, the Baha’i
in Polynesia appear to have significant interaction with
Christians. Chinese folk-religionists arrived in Polynesia throughout the twentieth century as immigrants
from China. The Chinese folk-religionist population in 2020 is likely to be around 1,600, or 0.2% of the re-
gional population.

Society
Religionists in Polynesia
who know a Christian, 2010 Many countries in Polynesia suffer from unequal
100
distribution of wealth and resources, with rural com-
munities bearing the largest burden. Many small,
100

80
isolated islands have limited resources and vulner-
able economies. With the deleterious effects of
Percentage who know a Christian
80

60
climate change and natural disasters, many nations
in Polynesia need to consider how to create sustain-
60

40
able ways of utilizing their natural resources, includ-
ing in farming, fishing, and logging. For example, a
40

20
2010 study conducted by the French Development
Agency found that 28% of the population of French
20

0
Polynesia is poor, and the gap between rich and
poor is as high as in many Latin American countries.
0

*Few or none Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
present in region Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

Center for the Study of Global Christianity • Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
73
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Part IV: Mission and society
Christianity in its Global Context • Mission and society

Missionaries sent and received
The twenty-first century has witnessed the sending of international missionaries to all of the world’s coun-
tries from almost every country. In 2010, Christians from all traditions sent out approximately 400,000 inter-
national missionaries; this figure does not include missionaries who were at work in their home countries.

Global North & global South

These international missionaries increasingly are coming from the global South. This is occurring at the
same time that missionary sending from the global North is declining significantly. Thus, of the ten coun-
tries sending the most missionaries in 2010, three were in the global South: Brazil, South Korea, and India.
The “second top ten” included six Southern countries: South Africa, the Philippines, Mexico, China, Colom-
bia, and Nigeria (making nine of the “top 20” from the South). Southern missionaries go not only to other
Southern countries but also to Northern countries, in a reverse of the pattern seen over much of the twen-
tieth century. While many of these international missionaries from the global South work among their own
peoples in diaspora, they are also increasingly seeking to reach the native populations of the countries in
which they minister.

Data on missionary sending and receiving, however, show that large imbalances still exist. For example,
the ten countries that sent the most international missionaries in 2010 were home to 32% of the world’s
church members but sent almost 73% of all international missionaries. (Church members—rather than the
number of Christians—are used in calculations related to missionary sending because most data on mis-
sionary sending come from denominations, associations, and individual churches as well as from para-
church mission agencies supported by churches and church members.)

Likewise, the ten countries that received the most international missionaries in 2010 (over 36% of the total)
were home to 29% of the world’s non-Christians but also 37% of the world’s Christians. When India (ranked
tenth) is left off the list, however, the “top nine” receiving countries were home to only 3.5% of the world’s
non-Christians but received more than 34% of all international missionaries! All nine have Christian ma-
jorities, and they were home to over 34% of the world’s Christians in 2010. They also sent almost 53% of
international missionaries.
ii

In contrast, the ten countries with the most non-Christians in 2010 were home to 73% of all non-Christians
globally. Because many of them restrict or deny missionary access, however, they received only 9% of all
international missionaries. Two of them, China and India, together were home to almost 58% of the world’s
non-Christians; they, along with Nigeria, are home to most of the Christians in the ten countries as well. In
these three countries, large numbers of home missionaries also work among non-Christians.

Missionaries sent & received per capita

Viewing the data in relationship to the total population in each country, rather than in absolute terms, re-
veals that the countries receiving the most missionaries per million people are overwhelmingly in Oceania
and the Caribbean and have majority Christian populations. The ten countries listed as receiving the most
missionaries per million population averaged 2,634 per million people. Because of their large Christian ma-
jorities, however, together they received one international missionary for every 32 non-Christian in 2010.

More striking, the ten countries that received the most missionaries per million non-Christians averaged
almost one for every seven. Samoa, at the top of the list, received more than one missionary for every three
non-Christians. None of these countries was less than 90% Christian and only three were less than 95%.
Suriname, with a bare Christian majority (51%), ranked 93rd on the list, while Albania, the highest-ranked
country with a true Christian minority (32%), ranked 137th out of 232 countries. In addition, Samoa received
one missionary for every 2.5 non-Christians. Tonga received one missionary for every 7.4 non-Christians,
and Micronesia one for every 11.1 non-Christians.

Nine of the ten countries receiving the fewest missionaries per million non-Christians were the same as
those receiving the fewest per million population. Home to 25% of the world’s population and over 34% of
all non-Christians, these countries combined received 1.5% of all missionaries, or one for every 272,000
non-Christians. North Korea received the fewest missionaries per capita on this basis: one for every 1.2 mil-
lion non-Christians.

While the shift from North to South in mission-sending will likely continue to and through 2020, the imbal-
ances described above are not expected to change significantly.
= Global average = Global average

ii
Missionaries sent by continent, 2010 Missionaries received by continent, 2010
700 500
Missionaries received per million population

Personal contact
People often ask questions such as “How many Muslims have a
Christian friend?” or “How many Hindus personally know a Christian?”
or “How many Buddhists have significant contact with Christians?” “Globally, only 19% of
In an effort to provide an answer, in 2007 Todd Johnson and Charles religionists personally
Tieszen published an analysis of personal contact between Christians
and other religionists (Evangelical Missions Quarterly 43(4):494–502). know a Christian from
“Personal contact” and “personally know,” as used by Johnson and any tradition.”
Tieszen, implied more than casual or superficial relationship, although
not necessarily deep friendship or intimacy.

They found that, globally, only 19% of religionists personally knew a Christian (from any tradition). Fur-
thermore, among Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists—the three largest religions globally (other than
Christianity)—less than 14% (or 1 in 7) had personal contact with a Christian. The non-religious (atheists
and agnostics) were more likely to know a Christian than were other religionists (33% versus 15%); this was
true for every continent as well. It is not surprising, however, as many non-religious people in the West are
former Christians.

Continental perspective

At the continental level, in Asia in- Personal contact by continent, 2010
dividuals were least likely to know a
Christian (only 13%, or about 1 in 8). 100
All

The likelihood was only slightly great- Non-religious
Percentage who know a Christian

Religious
er for the non-religious (14%) than for 80

the religious (13%). At the other end 60
of the spectrum, religionists in Latin 40
American were most likely to know 20
a Christian (91%). Latin American
also had the highest percentages for 0
Latin Northern
both the non-religious (99%) and the Africa Asia Europe
America America
Oceania Global total
religious (84%) who knew a Christian.
Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
(Buddhists and Hindus were mostly
likely to know a Christian if they lived
in Latin America. Muslims were most likely to know a Christian if they lived in Northern America.) The great-
est extreme was in Europe, where 99% of the non-religious knew a Christian, compared to only 19% of the
religious (72% for all non-Christians).

Regional perspective

Regionally, individuals were most likely to know a Christian in Polynesia (96%), followed by Central America
(95%) and South America (92%). Among atheists and agnostics, the likelihood was highest in the Carib-
bean, Central America, and South America (99% in each); the figure exceeded 90% in nine other regions
as well. The religious were most likely to know a Christian in Polynesia (90%), Central America (88%), and
South America (87%).

Individuals were least likely to know a Christian in Western Asia (10%), Northern Africa (11%), and South-
central Asia (12%). These were also the regions in which the religious were least likely to know a Christian
(10%, 12%, and 12%, respectively). Atheists and agnostics were least likely to know a Christian in Eastern
Asia (14%), South-central Asia (18%), and Northern Africa (19%); the figure was 28% in Western Asia.

Buddhists were least likely to know a Christian in Northern Africa (12%)—which has the lowest percentage
of Buddhists (less than 0.1%) in the total population—and South-eastern Asia (13%), where 26% of the

Agnostics
Atheists
Baha'is
Buddhists
Chinese folk-religionists
Confucianists
Ethnoreligionists
Hindus
Jains
Jews
Muslims
New religionists
Shintoists
Sikhs
Spiritists
Taoists
Zoroastrians
Total
The countries in which the fewest religionists know
a Christian are overwhelmingly Muslim. Of the ten
countries with the lowest percentages, Muslims
constitute at least 98% of the population in all but Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
one: North Korea, which is more than 72% non- Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013

religious (atheist and agnostic), was also the most Christian among the ten (0.8%).

The countries in which the fewest religious people personally know a Christian are the same as the “all
religionists” list (see table below), although the percentages are slightly less. That the two lists are identical
is not surprising given the overwhelming Muslim majorities in nine of the ten and the isolation of Christians
in North Korea.

The countries in which the non-religious have the least contact with Christians are more diverse, yet they
do share some commonalities. First, all of them are less than 2% Christian except Myanmar (8%), and In
Myanmar Christians are found mostly among ethic minorities. Second, All of them are also less than 2%
non-religious except North Korea, Mongolia (16%), and Japan (13%). In the latter three the large non-reli-
gious population is mostly native and thus unlikely to be secularized Christians or to have had other Chris-
tian contact.

Unreached peoples
The concept of unreached people groups burst onto the missions scene when Ralph Winter spoke about
them at the 1974 Lausanne Congress. In 1982 the Lausanne Strategy Working Group defined a people
group, for evangelistic purposes, as “the largest group within which the Gospel can spread without en-
countering barriers of understanding or acceptance.” A people group was considered “unreached” if there
was no indigenous Christian community within it capable of carrying on the task of evangelization and
church planting without outside assistance. The ensuing decades have seen “people-group thinking” and
the concept of unreached people groups take a prominent place in mission strategy.

World Christian Database

There are many ways to divide the world’s peoples and mul- “Despite almost 40 years of
tiple ways to measure Christian progress among them. The emphasis on unreached people
method used by the Center for the Study of Global Chris-
tianity (CSGC) in the World Christian Database is to divide groups, many still have no
each country into ethnolinguistic groups and to measure church-planting work of any kind
20 different ways of evangelizing. By this model there were
13,461 people groups in 2010. Of those, 4,402 (32.7%)
among them.”
were classified as least-evangelized (less than 50% evan-
gelized) peoples in 2010. These least-evangelized peoples represented 1.72 billion individuals, or 24.9% of
the world’s 6.90 billion people. Unevangelized persons in all people groups numbered 2.04 billion (29.6%
of all people) in 2010.

Joshua Project & Southern Baptist International Mission Board

Two other major sources of data on people groups—the Joshua Project (JP) and the Southern Baptist Inter-
national Mission Board (IMB)—look more directly at the phenomenon of unreached people groups (UPGs).
The IMB defines people groups based on ethnolinguistic considerations and considers a people group
unreached if less than 2% of its population is evangelical Christian. Using these criteria, the IMB identifies
11,294 total people groups, with 6,388 (56.6%) of them being UPGs. These UPGs represent some 4.2 bil-
lion people, or 60% of the global population of 7 billion.

The Joshua Project uses slightly different definitions. Unlike the IMB, JP includes caste considerations
in identifying peoples. As a result, their total number of people groups is 16,585. In order for a group to
be considered unreached by JP, it must be both less than 2% evangelical and less than 5% Christian
adherents. The latter criterion was added to distinguish between peoples with little to no Christian adher-
ence, witness, and resources and those who have a Christian heritage but need to be re-evangelized. JP’s
number of UPGs is 7,165 (43.2% of all people groups), representing 2.88 billion of the world’s 7.03 billion
people (41.0%).

Despite almost 40 years of emphasis on unreached people groups, however, many still have no church-
planting work of any kind among them. Others might have had such work in the past but do not currently.
Such groups are sometimes identified as unengaged unreached people groups (UUPGs), and many
mission strategists are seeking to move churches and mission agencies beyond “adopting” a people to
actively “engaging” them in actual church planting work.

Finishing the Task

Finishing the Task (FTT), an association of mission organizations, denominations, and congregations, pub-
lishes a list of groups that are prioritized for ministry. Originally including 639 people groups with popula-
tions over 100,000 each that had no known church planting work among them (representing more than
500 million people in total), the list today encompasses 1,312 with populations of at least 25,000 each. Of

these, 256 are considered unengaged, 273 are “adopted but not yet engaged,” and 763 are “engaged by
international churches, missionaries, or near-neighbor Christians.”

FTT has been criticized for its promotion of UUPGs, most notably at Lausanne’s 2010 Cape Town Con-
gress. While some of the reaction was merited—for example, the list of UUPGs that was distributed in Cape
Town included some 110 peoples that participants reported were in fact engaged—other criticism might
be the result of misunderstandings about the intent behind the concept or confusion over the difference
between UPGs and UUPGs.

Controversy

In fact, the idea of people groups in general is not without controversy. Missiologists currently wrestle with
the issue of whether caste differences pose sufficient barriers of acceptance to merit classifying different
castes as different people groups. If “higher” and “lower” social classes, or adherents of different religions,
within a people refuse to mix with one another, are different approaches to evangelism and church planting,
and even different Bible translations, needed for each different subunit?

Some people even wonder whether “people-group thinking” has run its course. Some people who ac-
cepted people groups as a useful concept in the past now question whether increasing urbanization and
globalization, by which individuals from many backgrounds are in increasingly close contact with one
another, renders other paradigms necessary. Finally, the notion of an “unreached people group” has been
broadened in some quarters far beyond the original definition, so that it encompasses groups (such as
university students) that include non-Christian individuals but that are both more than 2% evangelical (or
5% Christian) and are part of a larger people group that has church-planting work among it. Nonetheless,
efforts by researchers to identity peoples with little or no access to the gospel go on. These assessments
of unreached peoples are contrasted with the fact that the vast majority of Christian resources (including
missionaries) are deployed among “reached” peoples. This means that strategic planning related to the
world’s least-reached peoples is likely to continue well into the future.

Comparison of unreached people group assessments, 2013
20,000 Total
Unreached
16,000
People groups

Peoples in migration
In 2012, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity released a study on what can be called “religionists
in diaspora” or “religious diasporas.” The report utilizes the taxonomies of religions and peoples found in
the World Christian Database and World Religion Database and a data-collection mechanism that gathers
data from both religious communities themselves and censuses taken by governments. The study reports
that, in mid-2010, 859 million people from 327 people groups were living in diaspora, a total of 12.5% of the
global population. As illustrated in table 1, nearly half of these were Christians (47.4%), and a quarter were
Muslims (25.4%). One of the key findings of the report is that together, Christians and Muslims make up
55.3% of the world’s population, but they represent 72.8% of all people in diaspora.

Sending countries

Both the countries of origin and the destination (or host) countries are significant when studying religious
diasporas. The Center’s report found that Mexico, Bangladesh, and Argentina are the top three “send-
ing” countries of international migrants, sending 137.8 million, 87.9 million, and 68.2 million, respectively
(see table 2). Mexico, perhaps unsurprisingly, sent the most Christian migrants, the majority settling in the
United States. However, the figure for Christian migrants from Mexico is inflated because Mestizos in Latin
America are treated as one people in the methodology, even though they are clearly distinct from country
to country. Because Mexico has the largest number of Mestizos, it is treated as the home country, and all
other Mestizos are considered diasporas. Bangladesh is the leading sending country of both Hindus (60.8
million) and Muslims (24.8 million), many of whom are found across the border in India as modern geopo-
litical migrants post-partition. Of the ten largest sending countries, three are in Latin America, five in Asia,
and one each in Northern America and Europe (no countries in Africa and Oceania appear in the top ten
list). The majority of those from these ten countries are Christians.

Among destinations, the United States hosts the most total migrants, 118.1 million, or 38.0% of its popula-
tion (including 96.3 million Christians). India ranks second at 93.0 million, or 7.6% of its population, receiv-
ing significantly more Muslims than the United States (23.6 million compared to 2.5 million). Together these
two nations host nearly a quarter of all diasporas worldwide (24.6%). Of the ten largest host countries, four
are in Asia, five in Latin America, and one in Northern America (none of the ten largest are in Africa, Eu-
rope, or Oceania).

Tracking the religious affiliation of migrants is important because immigrants generally do not leave their
faith behind; it travels with them and impacts their destinations. Not only does the faith of the migrants
internally change, but their communities, with their rich traditions and deep-seated beliefs, also signifi-
cantly alter the religious landscapes of the countries in which they settle. It is critical for existing religious
communities—especially those in the majority—to welcome the millions of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and
Buddhists that arrive in their neighborhoods every year. Changing religious landscapes affects local poli-
tics, cultures, and societies in significant ways, and studying the religious affiliations of migrants will enable
communities to make the necessary changes and offer vital support for migrants and non-migrants alike.

Millennium Development Goals
Since 1972, the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potentials, compiled and published by the
Union of International Associations, has been addressing critical problems facing the world and offering
various solutions and global strategies. This presentation has covered a complex set of problems including
poverty, violence, disease, lack of education, environmental degradation, and resource shortages.

In 1990, the United Nations developed a method to summarize and address these problems, presented as
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs categorize some of the most critical human prob-
lems and set forth action plans concerning eight major goals: extreme poverty; primary education; gender
equality; child mortality; maternal health; HIV/AIDS and malaria; environmental sustainability; and global
partnership for development. Leaders around the world have embraced these goals, setting out to reach
them by the year 2015. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012 is the most recent assessment of
progress and presents both a positive and a negative picture. Progress has been made in reducing ex-
treme poverty, but the world’s poorest children still seriously suffer.

Extreme poverty

Extreme poverty continues to decline in many countries and regions. The proportion of people living on
less than US$1.25 a day fell from 47% in 1990 to 24% in 2008. By 2015 it is expected that the global
poverty rate will fall below 16%. This global trend has continued
despite the effects of deep economic recession in recent years.
Four of every five people living in extreme poverty in 2015 will
likely live in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. “By 2015 it is expected
that the global poverty rate
Children in poverty will fall below 16%.”
Despite gains made in reducing extreme poverty, the world’s
poorest children have made the slowest progress in term of
improved nutrition, and hunger remains a global challenge. Between 2006 and 2009, 850 million people
around the world still lived in hunger, 15.5% of the world’s population. Even though extreme poverty has de-
creased, progress has been slow in reducing child malnutrition. In 2010, nearly one in five children globally
was underweight, including one third of children in Southern Asia.

Christian involvement

Christian involvement in caring for the poor has deep roots. Each of the major Christian traditions has
developed strong theological foundations for social action. The core concept seems to be the consistent
concern that God shows for the poor, especially in the reconciling work of Jesus.

Current efforts by Christians to alleviate poverty tend to dovetail with those initiated by the United Nations
and various governments. Many of these initiatives take the form of non-governmental agencies, ranging in
size from multi-billion-dollar global enterprises to local family-run ministries. Christian networks such as the
Micah Challenge, in partnership with the World Evangelical Alliance, represent a global network of Chris-
tians who hold governments accountable to improve areas addressed by the MDGs by 2015. They aim to
empower Christians to speak out for justice and turn compassion into action. Individuals and organizations
also ambitiously launch and carry out their own action plans, such as Rick Warren’s PEACE plan. One of
the largest Christian development organizations is World Vision. World Vision is directly involved in MDGs
four and five (reducing child mortality and improving maternal health). World Vision focuses on tackling
both the symptoms and causes of poor health, especially among mothers and their children, to break
cycles of poverty.

Yet, both development communities and Christian organizations struggle to adequately implement solu-
tions. One of the greatest obstacles appears to be the uneven distribution of resources. Sixty percent of all
Christians live in the global South, but they hold only 17% of all Christian financial resources. Addressing
this imbalance is at the heart of any solution to human suffering.

Another problem is duplication and competition among differ-
“Sixty percent of all Chris- ent Christian groups. As part of the fragmentation of Christian-
tians live in the global South, ity into 43,000 denominations, there is a strong tendency for
each of these to create their own organizations focused on
but they hold only 17% of all alleviating human suffering. When these do not work together,
Christian financial resources.” they undermine their universal mission of compassion.

Christians will only be effective in social change if they work
in close collaboration with both each other and the wider development community. This means increased
cooperation between religious communities, such as Christian-Buddhist cooperation in South-eastern Asia,
Christian-Hindu cooperation in South-central Asia, and Christian-Muslim cooperation in Asia and Africa.
While there are specifically Christian reasons for helping the poor, there are no reasons why Christians can-
not work side-by-side with people of other faiths, or no faith, who share similar goals. In relation to 2020,
it is likely that while some progress will be made, development efforts will continue to fall far short of the
goals set by the United Nations.

Slum dwellers

The United Nations defines a slum as, “an area that combines, to various extents, the following characteris-
tics: inadequate access to safe water; inadequate access to sanitation and other infrastructure; poor struc-
tural quality of housing; overcrowding; and insecure residential status.” One in six people lives in slums
globally, and the number continues to rise, with urbanization outpacing slum improvements. In 2010, there
were an estimated 828 million slum dwellers in developing regions, compared to 260 million in 1970. Slums
in urban areas are unpredictable, but it is estimated that by 2020 one billion urban residents might live in
slums or in slum-like conditions.

Christian involvement in slums is disappointingly small. Jayakumar Christian of World Vision points to the
uneven nature of development work, where many overlook the real-
ity of urban poverty. Due to the rural bias in development projects,
slums often do not receive the necessary funds or attention to enact
“Fewer than 1 in 500
change. In his 2012 book Slum Life Rising, Ash Barker states that Christian foreign mission-
even the largest Christian mission organization is using only around aries work in slums.”
7% of its budget on urban programs and less than 2% on slum
ministry. In addition, it is estimated that fewer than 1 in 500 Chris-
tian foreign missionaries works in slums. A tiny fraction (perhaps 1 in 10,000) of national workers (pastors,
evangelists, etc.) work in slums in their own countries. The vast majority of Christians who do work in the
slums live outside the slums. While many of these have effective ministry, the most promising work appears
to be that of incarnational teams living in the slums.

The increasing number of slum dwellers globally and the new rise of the urban poor is more than just a
socio-economic phenomenon. It is a call for new and sustained engagement by Christian churches, both
local and global. Barker and others have shown that this is a new frontier in mission, and one that is best
addressed by humble Christians quietly living alongside slum dwellers, infusing them with hope and confi-
dence in the message of Jesus.

Center for the Study of Global Christianity • Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
85
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Part V: Methodology
Christianity in its Global Context • Methodology

Data sources

The World Christian Database (WCD; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2007) is an online database containing compre-
hensive demographic statistics on global Christianity. Over 400 categories of information including religious
adherents, Christian traditions, and mission trends are available at the province, country, people group,
language, and city levels for the entire world. Its partner site, the World Religion Database (WRD; Leiden/
Boston: Brill, 2008), contains detailed statistics on religious affiliation for every country in the world. The
WRD provides both current and historical data, as well as forecasts of future developments. For each of the
world’s religions, best estimates at multiple dates for the period 1900 to 2050 are provided. The WRD also
offers access to the sources that underlie the figures in the database, such as censuses and surveys. Both
of these databases are utilized for Center publications, such as the Atlas of Global Christianity (Edinburgh
University Press, 2009) and The World’s Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious
Demography (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013). Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020 adheres to the standard
methodology of the discipline of international religious demography.

The information contained in the World Christian Database and World Religion Database generally is re-
corded according to an every-five-years cycle (2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, etc.) rather than an annual cycle
(2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, etc.). For some sections of this report (“Missionaries sent and received,” “Person-
al contact,” “Unreached peoples,” and “Peoples in migration”), the most recent data available are for 2010.

Growth rates

The average annual growth rate (in percent per year) for a population of interest is calculated as
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where P1 is the population size in year y1 and P2 is the population size in year y2. Two situations involving
calculation of average annual growth rates are of special note. First, rates of growth for the six major Chris-
tian traditions sometimes are not consistent with the over-all Christian growth rate. This is because the total
Christian population is the sum of the six major traditions, plus unaffiliated Christians, minus doubly affili-
ated, minus disaffiliated. Therefore, the growth rate of the total Christian population is influenced by three
factors that do not enter into calculations for the six major traditions. In the case of the doubly affiliated,
multiple major traditions (or multiple minor traditions within a major tradition) can claim the same person
as an adherent, with each growth rate reflecting that person’s presence. Because such a person can be
counted only once in the total Christian population, however, it is possible for the overall growth rate for
Christians in an area to be lower than the growth rate for any of the traditions individually.

The other special situation involves calculating growth rates when the starting population is zero. In such
cases, to avoid dividing by zero in the rate equation (thus giving an infinite growth rate), an approximation
of the growth rate was made by substituting 10 as the starting population (or 1 as the initial value if the final
population value is less than 50). Note that the resulting growth rate estimate is subject to a much wider
margin of error than where the true starting value is greater than zero. This is especially true when the num-
ber of adherents of a particular religion is reported as 0 for an entire continent.

Major traditions

The total number of Christians in any area consists of the figures for each of the six major traditions (An-
glican, Independent, Marginal, Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic), plus the unaffiliated (those
who claim no affiliation with a church), minus the doubly affiliated (those who are counted as affiliated with
multiple major or minor traditions), minus the disaffiliated (one-time church members who have repudiated
their membership). Thus, the figures given for the major traditions can perhaps be considered a measure
of “affiliations” rather than individuals. A count of affiliations, unlike one of individual Christians, legitimately
can exceed not only the number of Christians in an area, but also even the total population. While some
of the affiliations reported by the churches are inaccurate (disaffiliated Christians; Christians who have left

one tradition for another with no intention of returning), others are indeed accurate—at least to the doubly
affiliated individuals who genuinely hold to dual identities (for example, as both Catholic and Protestant, or
both Protestant and Independent, or in more than one minor tradition within a major tradition). Asking such
individuals to select a single affiliation would seem, to them, arbitrary.

Renewalists

The report views the twentieth-century Renewal in the Holy Spirit as one single cohesive movement into
which a vast proliferation of all kinds of individuals and communities have been drawn in a whole range of
different circumstances. Whether termed Pentecostals, Charismatics or Independent Charismatics, they
share a single basic experience. The case for the statistical presentation of the Renewal as a single inter-
connected movement can best be made by considering how the movement starts off and spreads in any
area, from the days of the earliest Pentecostals to those of current Charismatics and Independent Char-
ismatics. The start of the movement anywhere has always been an unexpected or unpredictable happen-
ing rather than the result of any human planning or organization. First, individuals (at random across the
existing churches), then groups, then large numbers in organized movements become filled with the Spirit
and embark on the common Charismatic experience. All of them, originally, can collectively and correctly
be termed Renewalists. All these Renewalists find themselves living initially within existing mainline non-
Pentecostal churches and denominations. But before long evictions begin, and ejections, withdrawals and
secessions occur in varying degrees. First, various individuals, then groups, then whole movements are
forced into schism or opt for it and so begin separate ecclesiastical structures and new denominations.
From its beginnings in this way, the Renewal has subsequently expanded in three types.

Type 1: Pentecostals

These are defined as Christians who are members of the major explicitly Pentecostal denominations whose
major characteristic is a rediscovery of, and a new experience of, the supernatural, with a powerful and
energizing ministry of the Holy Spirit in the realm of the miraculous that most other Christians have consid-
ered to be highly unusual. This is interpreted as a rediscovery of the spiritual gifts of New Testament times,
and their restoration to ordinary Christian life and ministry. Pentecostalism usually is held to have begun
in the United States in 1901. For a brief period Pentecostalism expected to remain an interdenominational
movement within the existing churches without beginning a new denomination, but from 1909 onward its
members increasingly were ejected from all mainline bodies and so forced to begin new organized de-
nominations. Pentecostal denominations hold the distinctive teaching that all Christians should seek a post-
conversion religious experience called baptism in the Holy Spirit, and that a Spirit-baptized believer may
receive one or more of the supernatural gifts known in the Early Church: instantaneous sanctification; the
ability to prophesy, to practice divine healing through prayer, to speak in tongues (glossolalia) or to inter-
pret tongues; singing in tongues, singing in the Spirit, dancing in the Spirit, praying with upraised hands;
dreams, visions, discernment of spirits, words of wisdom, words of knowledge; miracles, power encoun-
ters, exorcisms (casting out demons), resuscitations, deliverances, signs and wonders.

From 1906 onward, the hallmark of explicitly Pentecostal denominations, by comparison with Holiness/
Perfectionist denominations, has been the single addition of speaking with other tongues as the “initial
evidence” of one’s having received the baptism of the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit), whether or not one sub-
sequently experiences regularly the gift of tongues. Most Pentecostal denominations teach that tongues-
speaking is mandatory for all members, but in practice today only 35% of all members have practiced this
gift either initially or as an ongoing experience.

Pentecostals are defined here as all associated with explicitly Pentecostal denominations that identify
themselves in explicitly Pentecostal terms, or with other denominations that as a whole are phenomenologi-
cally Pentecostal in teaching and practice.

These are defined as Christians affiliated to non-Pentecostal denominations (Anglican, Protestant, Catholic,
Orthodox), who receive the experiences above in what has been termed the Charismatic Movement. The
Charismatic Movement’s roots go back to 1907 and 1918, but its rapid expansion has been mainly since
1950 (later called the Charismatic Renewal). Charismatics usually describe themselves as having been “re-
newed in the Spirit” and experiencing the Spirit’s supernatural and miraculous and energizing power. They
remain within, and form organized renewal groups within, their older mainline non-Pentecostal denomina-
tions (instead of leaving to join Pentecostal denominations). They demonstrate any or all of the charismata
pneumatika (Greek New Testament: gifts of the Spirit) including signs and wonders (but with glossolalia
regarded as optional). The whole Movement is sometimes termed the “Second Wave” of the twentieth-
century Renewal. Concerning the key word, note that, “In the technical Pauline sense charismata (AV, gifts)
denote extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of
Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit”
(Thayer’s Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1886, 1977: 667). Charismatics usually are defined
as those baptized or renewed in the Spirit within the mainline non-Pentecostal denominations, from the first
mass stirrings in 1918 in Africa on to the large-scale rise from 1950 of the Charismatic Movement (initially
also termed Neo-pentecostalism to distinguish it from Classical Pentecostalism) who remain within their
mainline non-Pentecostal denominations. The Movement was later called the Charismatic Renewal. Note
that many individuals and groups in the mainline churches already had been receiving baptism in the Spirit
without publicity for many years before the usually quoted beginning dates.

Type 3: Independent Charismatics

Since 1945 thousands of schismatic or other independent Charismatic churches have come out of the
Pentecostal or Charismatic Movements; these independents have from 1900 to the present numbered more
than the first two types combined. They consist of Evangelicals and other Christians who, unrelated or no
longer related to the Pentecostal or Charismatic renewals, have become filled with the Spirit, or empowered
or energized by the Spirit and experiencing the Spirit’s supernatural and miraculous ministry (though usu-
ally without recognizing a baptism in the Spirit separate from conversion); who exercise gifts of the Spirit
(with much less emphasis on tongues, as optional or even absent or unnecessary) and emphasize signs
and wonders, supernatural miracles and power encounters; and who leave their mainline non-Pentecostal
denominations but also do not identify themselves as either Pentecostals or Charismatics. In a number of
countries they exhibit Pentecostal and Charismatic phenomena but combine this with rejection of Pente-
costal terminology. These believers frequently are identified by their leadership as Independent, Postde-
nominationalist, Restorationist, Radical, Neo-Apostolic, or the “Third Wave” of the twentieth-century Renew-
al. Also largely Pentecostal or semi-Pentecostal are members of the 250-year-old Independent movement
of Christians, primarily in the Global South, or churches begun without reference to Western Christianity. In-
digenous denominations, though not all explicitly Pentecostal, nevertheless have the main phenomenologi-
cal hallmarks of Pentecostalism (including Renewalist spirituality; oral liturgy; narrative witness/theology;
dreams and visions; emphasis on filling with the Holy Spirit; healing by prayer; atmospheric communica-
tion [simultaneous audible prayer], and emotive fellowship). The case for enumerating adherents of these
movements as Renewalists has been fully made by W. J. Hollenweger, in “After twenty years’ research on
Pentecostalism,” International Review of Mission (April 1986), and Pentecostalism (1997).

Personal contact

The concept of personal contact is built into previous measurements related to evangelization of ethno-
linguistic peoples. Twenty variables measuring evangelization among every ethnolinguistic people in the
world were isolated (Barrett and Johnson, World Christian Trends, 756–7). Two of these variables relate
very closely with personal contact between Christians (of all kinds) and other religionists. The first, “disci-
pling/personal work,” is an indication of how much contact local church members have with other religion-
ists. The second, “outside Christians,” extends this concept further by looking at the presence of Christians
from other peoples who live nearby. Under normal circumstances, the more Christians there are nearby, the
more likely the contact between religionists. Thus, for every other religious population in the world there is

Separate values for these two codes are reported for each ethnolinguistic people. These are summed
for each country, region, and continent, producing a global total described in this report. A listing of the
world’s peoples with these variables appears in Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson, World Christian Encyclo-
pedia, “Part 8 Ethnosphere” vol. 2, 30–241 and in the online World Christian Database. For a more com-
plete treatment on this subject see Todd M. Johnson and Charles L. Tieszen, “Personal Contact: The sine
qua non of Twenty-first Century Christian Mission,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, October 2007, pages
494–502.

Peoples in migration

As noted in the section “Peoples in migration,” “the figure for Christian migrants from Mexico is inflated
because Mestizos in Latin America are treated as one people in the methodology, even though they are
clearly distinct from country to country. Because Mexico has the largest number of Mestizos, it is treated
as the home country, and all other Mestizos are considered diasporas.” This is but one example of a known
shortcoming in the methodology used for calculating diaspora populations. That is, all people groups are
assigned a single home country (usually the country with the largest population of that people), and popu-
lations of that people group in other countries are treated as diaspora populations, when in fact they might
not be. A similar situation exists for Latin American Whites, whose country of origin is taken to be Argen-
tina, home to the largest population of that people (see table 2 of that section).

In the same way, Bangladesh is considered the “sending” country for Bengalis in India, when in fact much
of that “diaspora” resulted from the drawing of the boundary line between the two countries (although, to
be sure, there was actual migration by those on the “wrong” site ethno-religiously once the boundary had
been determined). Other examples include the large “diaspora” populations shown in table 3 for Colom-
bia, Venezuela, and Chile due to the presence of Latin American Mestizos (“from Mexico”), for North Korea
(Koreans “from South Korea”), and for Afghanistan (Pathan peoples “from Pakistan”). Both South Korea and
Pakistan are listed among the top “sending countries” in table 2 as well.

Population data

Population figures for the world as a whole, the 21 United Nations regions, and most countries were ob-
tained from World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision (http://esa.un.org/unpp), prepared by the Pop-
ulation Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. Data for
countries not listed in World Population Prospects were obtained from national surveys and census.

Rounding

For display purposes, large numbers are rounded using a custom function that tiers the amount of rounding
according to size, allowing smaller values to retain their meaning. For example, in a table of country popu-
lations, rounding all populations to the nearest 1,000 would leave countries with fewer than 500 people
showing as zero population. Calculations, however, such as growth rates and percentages, are made on
the unrounded “actual” values for greater accuracy between tables.